


Another Shade of Blue

by Madrigal_in_training



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Gaara doesn't understand it, Jinchuuriki-centric, Kurama and Naruto are friends, Naruto tries to flirt, Oblivious Gaara, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 09:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12105849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madrigal_in_training/pseuds/Madrigal_in_training
Summary: The boy was from a foreign village, had just threatened to kill his own siblings, and didn’t even look at her twice, but there was something screaming inside Naruto Uzumaki to not let him walk away. “W-wait,” she called out, catching an indifferent teal gaze, “Who are you?” fem!Naruto, GaaNaru





	1. Chapter 1

Kurama had been distracting her all week.

 

This wasn’t a new experience for Naruto. She had been friends of a sort with her Bijuu, ever since a near-death experience in her childhood. Of a sort, because the Kyuubi was a centuries-old manifestation of power and Naruto was the orphaned, loudmouth preteen jailing him, and this dichotomy did not lend itself to friendship. However, the grumpy fox didn’t have any other conversational partners, and would often mentally converse with the child. The Uzumaki found herself quickly developing the skill of keeping track of multiple conversations, once he began.

 

She didn’t mind, really. It was far better than being alone.

 

‘ _ I’m telling you, brat, there’s something dangerous approaching us! _ ’ the Kyuubi’s deep voice insisted.

 

_ ‘I live in a ninja village, Kyu. There’s always something dangerous around me,’  _ Naruto replied, exasperated. ‘ _ Unless you’re talking about the Konohamaru Corps or Sakura, I can’t sense any other immediate threats.’ _

 

_ ‘There are two syllables in my title, and three in my name, brat. Stop shortening them!’ _

 

_ ‘Only if you stop calling me brat,’  _ was her repeated counteroffer. There was a mental scoff, before Kurama receded back into the depths of her mind. Knowing that he would be sulking for the remainder of the day, Naruto returned her attention to the spectacle in front of her.

 

_ ‘He really shouldn’t have said that,’  _ the Uzumaki sympathetically winced, as Sakura’s fist crashed down on Konohamaru’s head. There was a time when  _ Naruto _ had been the one receiving Sakura’s personal interpretation of justice. Kurama had rather quickly shut that down, by shocking her every time Naruto refused to dodge. The demon had advocated hitting the Haruno back, but the Uzumaki was leery of hurting her own teammates.

 

_ ‘Even if they’re occasionally worse than my actual enemies,’  _ Naruto mentally winced at the reminder of Haku’s gentle smile.  _ ‘I should intervene now, before Kono-chan’s ANBU Guard needs to.’ _

 

“Sakura, I’m sure that Konohamaru didn’t mean it,” the blonde said, in her most soothing voice, “He’s just a kid. Let’s leave him to play with his friends.”

 

“I did so mean it!” Despite the visible bruise on his forehead, her unofficial little brother was still glaring at the pinkette. “You’re a mean and ugly girl, with a big forehead! Nee-chan is way prettier than you are! Her hair isn’t a weird pink colour, and she’s not flat-chested, like you, either!”

 

_ ‘He just had to bring that up,’ _ Naruto sighed, slumping forward, so her chest wouldn’t be so visible. She wasn’t as developed as Hinata, but the Uzumaki hadn’t dieted like her other female classmates, and was a little further in puberty as a result. Couple that with her accidental kiss with the teme… 

 

“Konohamaru, run,” the blonde warned, seeing the fires of revenge light Sakura’s jade green eyes. This time, the Sandaime’s grandson had the common sense to listen, as he high-tailed it down the street, Sakura at his heels. Naruto briefly paused to smile reassuringly at Moegi and ruffle Udon’s hair- they were cute kids, and she found the goggles flattering- before chasing after them.

 

_ ‘Konohamaru needs to learn basic diplomacy, or at least some discretion,’ _ Naruto mused, _ ‘I’ll let Sakura have one hit, before I stop her.’  _

 

The Uzumaki’s ocean blue eyes widened when she turned the corner, and saw the scene before her. Konohamaru’s feet were kicking helplessly in the air, as a teenage boy wearing a black catsuit outfit and purple paint, held him up by his shirt. Next to him, was a pretty older girl with dusky blonde hair pulled into four pony-tails and a Sunagakure headband. Sakura was hovering anxiously in front of them, pleading for them to allow Konohamaru down.

 

“Not a chance. The kid has to pay for running into me first,” the oddly dressed boy scoffed, before he caught sight of Naruto. “On second thought, I might agree to let him go, if I can get a date out of it.”

 

Sakura blushed a furious red. “I’m never going to betray my Sasuke-kun!” she loyally exclaimed.

 

“Huh? No, not you. You’re too flat-chested,” the boy dismissed, making the pinkette bristle, “I was talking about the cute blonde over there. What do you say, Leaf Nin? Will one date equal letting this brat down?”

 

Konohamaru stopped struggling long enough to gape down at his captor. “What? No way are you getting a date with my sister, you make-up wearing creep! Nee-chan, don’t give in to him! I’ll sacrifice myself for you!”

 

Naruto sweatdropped. “That’s nice of you, Kono-chan, but not necessary,” she addressed the boy next, “Please set Kono-chan down, Suna Nin. There’s an ANBU protective detail around us, right now, and they will not take kindly to the Sandaime’s grandson being threatened in his own village.”

 

She paused, allowing the foreigners to pale, before adding. “Even by the Kazekage’s children.”

 

The Uzumaki had established the identities of both parties involved in the confrontation, while keeping her own secret. She had offered a warning to the other teens, but worded it in the terms of a suggestion. She had implied that she was related to the Sandaime, but Konohamaru had been the one to explicitly claim her as a sister. They were inside of Konoha, and should this move to a physical confrontation, Naruto was pretty sure that the international incident would be blamed on Suna.

 

The Kazekage’s son was hesitating, and Naruto was confident that this issue could be resolved without violence, when a rock came flying out of nowhere. The tiny projectile cracked against the older teen’s knuckles, causing him to recoil, and Konohamaru to tumble into the ground. The Academy student quickly scrambled up, and ran to hide behind Naruto. A childish exclamation of worry and a wet sniffling sound suggested that Moegi and Udon had also made an appearance.

 

“Suna-nin, what are you doing in this village?” Sasuke’s coal black eyes glared down at them, from his relaxed perch in the tree. Even as Sakura squealed about how cool he looked, Naruto took one look at the defensive catsuit-wearing teen, and internally cringed.

 

_ ‘Dammit, why couldn’t the teme see that this problem was almost resolved?‘ _ Naruto whined.

 

“Nee-chan, why couldn’t you do that?” Konohamaru pouted, from where he was clinging to her legs.

 

Naruto looked down at him, and ignored Sasuke’s rude questions about what the foreigners were doing here. “Because violence should never be the first answer, Kono-chan.”

 

“It was way more cool though,” the Sarutobi sighed, ears perking up. “Hey, so will your team be joining these exams too?”

 

The Uzumaki shrugged. “Maybe? We’d be too young for them normally, but the Council would want to squeeze the teme’s participation for more revenue, and Kakashi is kind of negligent on safety issues.”

 

The Konohamaru Corps perked up. “We’ll be there to cheer you on, nee-chan!”

 

“You can show them how strong kunoichi are!” A starry-eyed Moegi added.

 

“I can’t wait to see what seals you’ll use in battle,” Udon said admiringly. “Will you use the flash tag?” 

 

Naruto would have replied to them, but her attention was on the Kazekage’s son. He had dropped a heavily bandaged package in front of him, and it was starting to unravel. The Uzumaki quietly palmed a kunai onto her hand. Even if her idiot teammate had been at fault, she wouldn’t let him fight a Chuunin-ready puppeteer alone.

 

Kurama spoke first. ‘ _ Brat, the dangerous presence is here! _ ’

 

Then her ears registered a young, male voice. “Kankuro, stop.”

 

All of the trained genin in the area were stunned, as another figure made himself visible from Sasuke’s tree. The Uchiha appeared shocked that he hadn’t noticed the redhead’s arrival. The boy used a sand-based Shunshin to appear on the ground, and looked disapprovingly at his nervous siblings.

 

Naruto took his appearance in. He had a slight figure, barely taller than the embarrassingly short Uzumaki, blood-colored hair, and a red-inked tattoo on his forehead. He wore a plain black mesh shirt, a white sash, and carried a sandy coloured gourd on his back. His black-rimmed, teal eyes were a reflection of the isolation and pain that Naruto had experienced in her own childhood. 

 

They were speaking now, but the Uzumaki couldn’t hear anything. Her chakra sensing abilities, born from her Uzumaki heritage and strengthened through the Kyuubi’s gifts, were going haywire. This boy- this  _ stranger’s _ \- chakra was intimately familiar to her, like a long-ago friend that could she not recall or the ghost of a memory that was hovering at the edge of her consciousness. He was a past that she was never part of, a future that she couldn’t yet see. 

 

Each Bijuu could gift its tenant with a unique ability. The Kyuubi’s Gift of Foresight  _ burned _ .

 

_ ‘Kit, I think he’s a jinchuuriki as well, _ ’ Kurama’s voice echoed in her mind, ‘ _ He’s from Suna. I can sense Shukaku’s madness around him. _ ’

 

The boy was a jinchuuriki. He was like her; a Kage’s child turned into a living weapon. He was powerful and mad, terrifying and dangerous. He had the same eyes that she did, the same burden, the same history, but now,  _ he was walking away from her _ . 

 

Naruto didn’t notice that she had stepped forward, didn’t know that Sasuke was about to speak. Instead, her voice rang out, scratchy and uncertain, but so very sure that she couldn’t let this boy walk away from her. She didn’t even need to feel the Kyuubi’s spiritual tug on her mind, to know that this boy would be intimately familiar to her future self.

 

“W-wait,” she called out, catching an indifferent teal gaze, “Who are you?” 

 

x


	2. Chapter 2

“Who? Me?” Kankuro asked, a pleased expression crossing his face. Naruto didn’t even give him a second look.

 

“No,” she answered, “The red-haired one.”

 

The jinchuuriki’s boy’s teal eyes fell on the kunai clenched in her hand, before they rose to the still Uzumaki. Teal was such a strange color, Naruto thought. Not quite blue, but more than green. A little mysterious, like the mists around the Naka River, but beautifully appealing in the madman’s gaze.

 

“Gaara no Sabaku,” the boy replied. His voice was deeper than Sasuke’s, but still identifying to a child. “You interest me as well. Who are you?”

 

“Naruto Uzumaki.” It sounded like a confession when she spoke to him. “My team and I may be entering the Chuunin Exams too.”

 

“I’ll see you there then,” Gaara responded in a flat monotone. When his eyes flickered over to Sasuke, the Uzumaki found that she had been holding her breath. “I would like to fight you there too. Don’t lose before I have a chance to feed your blood to Mother.”

 

_ ‘Mother?’ _ Naruto briefly thought, watching him turn again. There was a part of her that wanted to run after him, but she didn’t know what she would do then, and she resisted that urge. He was a stranger to her, no matter how familiar or enchanting his chakra seemed. 

 

This wasn’t the first time that Naruto had been drawn to another person’s chakra-scape. Her unique sensor ability gave her some insight to other people’s personalities, and her gift of foresight told her whether or not they would be precious to her future self. She had only been wrong once before. Itachi Uchiha wasn’t nearly as gentle and trustworthy as the warm flames of his chakra-scape suggested.

 

_ ‘I can’t believe Shukaku is still pulling that genderbender trick,’  _ Kurama moaned from inside her, _ ‘This is why none of our siblings take him seriously.’ _

 

_ ‘You’re too arrogant to take any of them seriously, Kyu,’ _ she offhandedly replied, glaring at her Uchiha teammate. “Why did you throw that pebble?! We could have gotten into a diplomatic incident with the Kazekage’s children!”

 

“Hnn,” Sasuke jumped down, “Why did you say that we would be entering the Chuunin Exams dobe?”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Naturally the Council is going to want to squeeze you out for tourism and merchandising cash _ teme _ . I’m sure Kakashi-sensei will give us the forms right before the exams.”

 

_ ‘He better,’  _ she added mentally. This was her best way to connect with the jinchuuriki boy.

 

“How did you know that they were the Kazekage’s children?” Sakura asked, “They looked strong.”

 

“They should be,” Naruto replied shortly, not addressing the other girl’s question. She looked down at her pint-sized followers, and a warmer smile crossed the genin’s face. “I have another two hours until I have to meet my sensei. Do you guys want to show me how far you got with shuriken practice?”  

 

She received three enthusiastic responses, and led the children to the Sarutobi Clan’s training grounds in response. The Hokage’s private ones were more extensive, but the forested woodland by the small Sarutobi Compound were useful for beginner training. Naruto leaned against a nearby tree, as she watched the Academy students practice.

 

“You put too much force into those throws, otouto,” the Uzumaki corrected, sharply poking at his shoulderblades to make him straighten up, “Widen your stance Moegi, and remember to take the wind into account. Your hits are perfect, Udon, but I’d have killed you in four different ways in the time that you need to throw them.”

 

“It doesn’t matter if your throws aren’t perfect,” Naruto chided, amused to see the math-loving boy’s cheeks turn pink, “Your opponents are likely to be bigger than you, which gives you larger targets to work with. Shuriken are primarily used for distraction and hindrance purposes, not as a main attack. Konohamaru, if you have so much energy for those shuriken, than you can take a lap around the training field.”

 

“Nee-chan!” the younger boy burst out, dismayed. When he received a flinty-eyed look in response, the Sarutobi pouted and began a slow jog on the beaten path. He used to run headfirst into his paces, but Naruto and exhaustion broke him out of that bad habit quickly.

 

“That’s a good shot Moegi. Can you hit the head next?” The pink-cheeked girl beamed, and started aiming at her new target. It didn’t take Konohamaru long to finish with the dreaded but all too familiar laps, and soon he was joining his friends again. Naruto moved back and watched the kids practice, with a genuine smile tugging at her lips.

 

She had been six years old when Hiruzen Sarutobi brought her to his home, and all-but-adopted her into the Sarutobi family. There had been a minor incident with a sexual predator at the orphanage, never exceeding an uncomfortable leer from the pedophilic woman, but the Sandaime had been worried. Naruto was rather indifferent to it, since the experience itself had been disturbing, but had allowed her to meet the Old Man’s son, Daichi, daughter-in-law, Asuka, and grandson, Konohamaru. 

 

Before Daichi and Asuka’s deaths, they had treated her like an older sister for their newborn son. The Uzumaki had soaked up that attention, even if their busy schedules as ANBU didn’t allow for much family time. She had even been hoping for an adoption, before the Sandaime sat her down and told her about Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. The blonde didn’t want her mother’s clan name to die out, but refused to change the way she interacted with Daichi and Asuka. Naruto still considered the Sarutobi to be her family, even if she had moved to her own apartment last year.

 

_ ‘It’s more of a personal lab than a living space,’ _ Kurama pointed out, ‘ _ Especially since you don’t know to cook yet. _ ’

 

_ ‘I’ll get to it, when I get to it! _ ’ Naruto retorted. Her inability to cook was a bit of a sore spot. 

 

_ ‘Your otouto is about to do something stupid,’ _ the Kyuubi lazily pointed out. A second later, Naruto was jumping forward, and swiping a glowing card from Konohamaru’s hand. One brief look at its surface as she tossed it aside, caused the Uzumaki to close her eyes. The sound of cursing around her suggested that the flash tag had gone off.

 

“Konohamaru, what did I tell you about my sealing cards?” Naruto said, sternly.

 

“Not to use them unless I’m in danger or you’re around to supervise me,” the boy rubbed at his eyes, “But Nee-chan, you were- ow!”

 

The Uzumaki swiftly cracked her knuckles against his head. “I didn’t give you permission to use them, otouto, so you shouldn’t have.”

 

She withdrew another card from her shinobi pouch. “Here. You can replace your stock with this one, but if I see you use them without my permission again, I’ll confiscate them all. Understand?”

 

“Okay!” Konohamaru happily agreed, “Nee-chan, did you make any new cards?”

 

“As a matter of fact, I did,” the Uzumaki responded, “Would you like to see?”

 

At this point, Udon was even more excited than Konohamaru, as the trio gathered around her. This wasn’t surprising. The glasses-wearing boy had displayed a fascination for fuuinjutsu before, so Naruto had taught him to make his own sealing scrolls and exploding tags. After soliciting a promise to only use the latter against Ebisu.

 

He was a Jounin. He’d be fine.

 

A gleam of pride entered Naruto’s ocean blue eyes, as she took out a deck of what appeared to be playing cards. In fact, they were the Uzumaki’s own attempt to weaponize fuuinjutsu. Sealing tags were made of delicate rice paper, easily tore, and had to be wrapped around the hilt of a kunai to be used in distance attacks. Naruto had fixed this by carefully pasting the chakra-laden paper around a poker card, which was less visible and faster than a normal kunai, especially if it was laced with wind chakra. Naruto would activate the seal, throw the card, and let a variety of effects show.

 

She had a standard 52-card deck. Of them, 13 cards were normal exploding tags, 7 were flash tags, 7 were freeze tags, 6 released electrical currents, 6 released smoking gas, 2 could light up like torchlights, 5 could be used as a tracking signal, and 6 could drain out chakra. The last 6 were a new invention of hers, modelled after the Aburame’s kikachu, and designed to suck out up to a C-rank jutsu’s worth of chakra, before bursting into fire. Naruto was rather proud of it.

 

“This is another battle card,” Naruto began, mentally noting that she needed to increase the diversity of her deck. “Can you guess what it’ll do?” There was a crude drawing of a beetle on the top- her artistic ability was another sore spot- and that was what the children focused on.

 

“Does it turn you into a giant bug?” Konohamaru asked, with boyish enthusiasm.

 

“Or let you tunnel through the ground?” Udon suggested. “What? Ants tunnel through the ground.”

 

“Is it like bug spray?” Moegi’s nose crinkled, “No, if it’s a battle card, than it would make the bugs come to  _ you _ . Gross.”

 

“All good ideas, but no,” the Uzumaki replied, “This is a beetle, not an ant, and it’s modelled after the Aburame’s kikachu. It allows-”

 

“Oh, I know this one!” Konohamaru interrupted, “That’s the clan that can suck your chakra out. Do your cards do that, Nee-chan? That’s so cool!”

 

“Thanks,” Naruto was too gratified by the compliment to be irritated by Konohamaru’s impatience. He was overtly eager sometimes, but the Uzumaki was sure that he would settle down with age. “They channel that chakra into a low-grade explosion tag, but since a lot of the energy gets lost in conversion, it only bursts into fire. I plan to use them in the Chuunin Exams, so don’t tell anyone, okay? I made one for each of you.”

 

This garnered even more enthused agreements than the training request, and afterward, the blonde wasn’t even hit three identical depressed faces when she had to leave for her team meeting. Naruto had spent more time with the kids than she had initially assumed, and was running late to Training Ground 3. Not for the first time, the Uzumaki lamented that she had yet to learn the Shunshin.

 

Naruto Uzumaki wasn’t the most well-rounded kunoichi. Her ninjutsu reportee consisted of the Henge, Kawarimi, Kage Bunshin (taught by the Old Man since her regular ones overloaded with chakra), and Tajuu Kage Bunshin. She knew that her elemental affinities were wind and water, but she only used that to apply wind chakra to her cards. Her taijutsu was above-average, but compensated for her sloppy footwork and strikes with raw strength and speed. Her stealth, trapmaking, and chakra sensing abilities were excellent, but she couldn’t cast a genjutsu to save her life. Overall, most of her offensive power came from her fuuinjutsu abilities.

 

_ ‘Though beginner sealing theory doesn’t have a lot of physical applications,’  _ Naruto mused, ‘ _ My attack power should increase exponentially when I move to the higher levels.’ _

 

The Uzumaki probably could have graduated in the top ten percent of her Academy class, but for a scheme that backfired spectacularly. Growing up, Naruto had heard tales from the Old Man about his own genin team, and realized that the deadlast would be paired with the top two students. She had been determined to stage her own genin team by becoming said deadlast, which was harder than it sounded when Shikamaru Nara went out of his way to be as mediocre as possible. Fate must have been laughing at her when she succeeded… and got Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno for her team.

 

She didn’t like Sasuke Uchiha. He was a competent ninja, and better rounded than she was, but the boy’s bullheaded arrogance was galling. Naruto was also mildly freaked out by his Sharingan. It reminded her of the red eyes of a much kinder boy, that ended up being a monster, and was accompanied by Kurama’s growled complaints against the Uchiha Clan. So. Many. Complaints.

 

Sakura Haruno was probably the most intelligent classmate Naruto had, outside of the Nara that didn’t have the decency to let her be a deadlast in peace. That was the most positive comment she had though, because the pinkette was a terrible kunoichi in every other way. Even her perfect chakra control was counteracted by miniscule reserves.

 

Naruto didn’t even care that she was a fangirl. Sasuke was cute; there was no denying that. The Uzumaki had even crushed on him briefly for a time, before the Old Man had found out and sat her down with a stack of pictures. Now the blonde couldn’t even think about the Last Uchiha, without linking him to all of those terrible sexually-transmitted diseases that the Sandaime swore she would get, unless she had safe sex as an adult. Maybe she should have the Old Man give Sakura that talk? The pinkish-yellow oozing warts on the vagina picture had done wonders for her romantic mind.

 

_ ‘If you had mated with an Uchiha, I would have pulped your brain into a soggy cauliflower.’ _

 

_ ‘Course you would,’  _ she was intrigued, ‘ _ How will you get around the seal though? _ ’

 

_ ‘I am an all-powerful demon, brat! This damn seal will not protect you from my wrath forever!’  _

 

This instigated a round of petty childish bickering between preteen and demon that put a smile on the blonde’s face.

 

Naruto didn’t like her team. Sasuke was arrogant, Sakura was useless, and Kakashi-sensei had only ever taught them the tree-walking technique. But that was fine. There was a grumpy and caustic millennia old demon inside of her head, and they made a pretty damn awesome team by themselves.  

 

x


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto wasn’t surprised that Kakashi-sensei would wait until the day before the exams started to hand them the official papers. The white-haired Jounin was a brilliant shinobi and field commander, but when it came to teaching skills or the prompt handling of information, he often dropped the kunai. At least this time, he could claim that Iruka’s meddling delayed him.

 

The Uzumaki was mildly upset that her favorite Academy sensei would try to kidnap Konohamaru in order to let her into the Chuunin Exams. She didn’t even feel guilty about hitting him with three electrical shock tags. As the Sandaime’s grandson, Konohamaru had legitimate fears about kidnapping, and this event didn’t reassure him any!

 

She didn’t bother sticking around to talk to her teammates, and instead stalked over to the Tobirama Memorial Library. It wasn’t the biggest one in Konoha, but included something that was vital for her research: newspapers. Specifically, the ancient librarian meticulously kept two decades worth of the  _ Ember Leaf _ periodicals, which covered every Chuunin Exam to date. They were a recently instituted event, and there weren’t even two dozen examples for Naruto to study. But the ones that she  _ did _ , revealed some useful nuggets of information.

 

‘ _ So while there’s no standard amount of events, there’s always one survival-based task and a public tournament at the end, _ ’ Naruto considered, ‘ _ Thanks for suggesting the library trip, Kyu. _ ’

 

‘ _ As my tenant, you should occasionally benefit from the magnanimity of my brilliance, _ ’ Kurama responded, not an ounce of sarcasm in his tone, ‘ _ Don’t overpack for the survival-related task. You may face some combat beforehand, and I don’t want you to be overburdened with supplies. _ ’

 

_ ‘Got it. Do you think I should pack anything for the teme and Sakura?’ _ the blonde asked idly, returning the old periodicals. Kurama’s derisive snort showed what he considered of the idea, so Naruto returned to her information-gathering activities. Now that she had an idea of what the exams might contain, she could focus on her potential opponents.

 

‘ _ Why do you always forget the whiskers when you Henge? _ ’ the Kyuubi’s exasperated question made the Uzumaki blush, and re-apply her disguise.  _ ‘Much better. You don’t want to be too forgettable. You ninken are inherently suspicious of plain-looking people.’  _

 

_ ‘I think that might only be us,’ _ she replied, squinting murky green eyes when she stepped outside,  _ ‘Now where would I find confidential information about Chuunin hopefuls in a ninja village?’ _

 

Ten minutes later, and Akari Uzume the Random Chuunin from Border Patrol was throwing back a glass of sake. The clear liquid burned as it fell down her throat, and Naruto was merely grateful that Kurama neutralized all of the alcohol in her systems. Otherwise, she was pretty sure that she would be puking in the alleyway, right now.

 

“Hey, four cups in and Uzume’s still up!” Izane laughed, gesturing over to the barkeeper, “Oi, Tenzin! Sure you don’t water your drinks here?”

 

“Water my drinks? Not a fucking chance,” the older man snorted, “I run a respectable bar here. This girl’s just got a stomach of cast-iron. I’d like to see a miserable little bastard like you drink four of my Iwa Strippers and not fall over.”

 

“Bring a glass here, and I’ll show you what diluted drinks do,” a brunette Jounin taunted, “Want another glass, Uzume? Hey- Uzume?”

 

“Want to see how the pool plays out,” Akari shouted back, stumbling over to the back. She blinked her eyes rapidly, as though her vision was spinning, and slumped against the wall, to preserve her balance. “Where’s all the money going to?”

 

“The Uchiha,” a scarred man grunted. Both of his legs had been swapped for prosthetics, but there was a glimmer to his eyes that made Naruto deeply hope that her Henge held. “You wanna bet?”

 

“Well I don’t want to put my rent money on a risky bet,” Akari teased, leaning forward and allowing the top of her fake breasts to catch the light. “What do you suggest?” 

 

Grey eyes followed her chest as she leaned back, and then an amused gaze caught murky green orbs. Huh, so this seduction stuff actually worked.

 

“Well Gai’s team is a good bet. I heard that his Hyuuga was a monster in close combat,” the man answered, still amused, “They’re the main bet from Konoha, but the foreigner team with the Kazekage’s children will be strong, and Kiri’s teams are promising. All of the rookie teams have been added, but most don’t expect such green genin to do well.”

 

“I wouldn’t count them out though,” the man continued, “Kakashi’s team has potential, especially that blonde kunoichi. Real spitfire, that one.”

 

“Eh, well, th-that’s good,” Akari spluttered, “I shouldn’t really bet my rent money though. See you?”

 

“Oh? Not a single bet?” the man called out, good-naturedly chuckling at her obvious retreat.

 

Never able to resist a challenge, the fleeing Akari briefly turned and flashed a confident grin at the other ninja. “Put me down- 500 ryo- for the spitfire!”

 

x

 

When Naruto met her teammates the next morning, she focused a glare on them. “Before you start to say or do something,  _ please _ think it through. Don’t reveal important information, start unnecessary fights, or brag about your skills. And for the love of Inari, teme, do you  _ have  _ to paint a giant target on your back, every time we enter a dangerous situation?”

 

Sasuke glared back at her. In all fairness, his glare was even more impressive. “This is my clan sigil dobe. I intend to wear it with pride.”

 

“Can’t you be prideful when we’re already Jounin?” she grumbled, but let the common argument drop. It figured that they had been in the room for less than five minutes, when her arrogant teammate decided to completely disregard her warnings.

 

_ ‘He has a shiny bowl cut and giant eyebrows, and wears a green leotard, with orange leg warmers,’  _ Kurama announced grandly, ‘ _ By the unwritten laws of your ninja society, I think we can safely assume that he will be a strong opponent.’ _

 

_ ‘He’s also a student of Maito Gai, the most talented taijutsu specialist in Konoha,’  _ Naruto thought, unamused, ‘ _ And the teme just agreed to fight a spar with him. I think he may have been dropped on his head as a child. Repeatedly. _ ’

 

‘ _ An inability to resist a fight is rather common for Uchiha,’  _ the Kyuubi assured, watching Rock Lee with fascination, _ ‘Are males fighting for dominance another human mating ritual that I never saw before? _ ’

 

_ ‘Didn’t you see my parents date?’ _ the Uzumaki asked.

 

_ ‘Yes, but that was mostly Kushina fighting for your father’s honor,’  _ Kurama dismissed, ‘ _ Women liked to swarm him when they were on dates. Kushina would rant about it for days. It was all very annoying. _ ’

 

_ ‘Go Mom!’  _ Naruto briefly shot back. “Teme, if you’re planning to fight this guy, than you shouldn’t need me around. I’ll see you and Sakura in the right room then?”

 

“Go ahead dobe,” Sasuke grunted, looking directly in Rock Lee’s eyes, “This shouldn’t take long.”

 

_ ‘I agree,’  _ Kurama supported, _ ‘I estimate that it will take no longer than ten minutes for this boy to defeat Sasuke Uchiha.’  _

 

_ ‘It’s almost adorable how much you hate that clan,’  _ Naruto mused, heading to the proper room. “Hello Kakashi-sensei. Why are you standing by the door?”

 

“I wanted to wish you and the others luck,” her sensei sharply closed his Icha Icha, “Where are Sasuke and Sakura?”

 

“Sasuke’s getting his ass kicked by Maito Gai’s student, and Sakura is cheering him on,” the blonde promptly tattletaled. Hey, prankster’s honor only extended to fellow lawbreakers, of whom a policeman’s son and a teacher’s pet were not. “They’ll come around soon. May I go through?”

 

“Did you at least try to talk Sasuke out of it?” Kakashi sighed.

 

Naruto shrugged. “Kind of?”

 

“I guess he still hasn’t learned to take his teammate’s suggestions into account,” the Hatake groaned, “Furuki told me about your intel gathering exercise, and I know how strong you are. Be confident in yourself, don’t make reckless mistakes, and trust in your teammates- at least when fighting is involved. I’ll expect to see a Chuunin when all of this is said and done.”

 

“Will do, Sensei,” Naruto beamed, hugging the man. Kakashi tolerated the young girl’s affection for a few seconds, before gently pushing her towards the door.

 

“Show them all what the only child of the Yellow Flash is capable of, Naruto.”

 

x

 

Her first judgement of the room was that it was massive, entirely filled with tense genin, and eerily quiet. Her second judgement was that the constant outputting of her chakra was sending back so much information that her head was getting dizzy, so Naruto promptly handed that knowledge stream over to Kurama. He would inform her if any interesting chakra signatures were recorded. Her third judgement was that she didn’t want to be the focus of attention, so she quietly slunk to the side.

 

_ ‘All of the rookie teams got here before us,’  _ Kurama reported, ‘ _ None of their chakra pools increased more significantly than expected after three months of fieldwork. Maito Gai’s team hasn’t reached the room yet, but I sense them in the room below us. There’s something strange about one of the ninja to your immediate right, thirty paces ahead. His arms don’t emit any chakra. _ ’

 

_ ‘They’re covered by long sleeves, but I guess it’s possible that they’ve been replaced by prosthetics,’  _ Naruto discretely observed the hunched teen with the mostly bandaged face, ‘ _ He’s wearing a giant, straw… cape? Can you feel any chakra inside of it, Kyu?’ _

 

_ ‘Stop calling me that brat! I am the great and almighty Kyuubi no Yoko, who- with one stroke of my majestic tails- can make the ground shudder and the waves rise to my command. I am an immortal-’ _

 

_ ‘Is that a yes or a no?’  _ Naruto interrupted impatiently,  _ ‘We don’t have a lot of time before the first task starts, Kyu.’ _

 

_ ‘Hmph. No respect for your elders brat,’  _ the fox grumbled _ , ‘Yes, there is some chakra around him. Do you want me to release your foresight ability?’ _

 

The shiver that ran down her back had nothing to do with the challenging, and possibly life threatening, tasks that Naruto was about to face. It had everything to do with the almost crippling fear she had of her talent to divine the future. The ability was a concentrated form divine energy that Kurama had blessed a priestess in the Land of Demons with centuries ago. If the Kyuubi didn’t regulate its usage, it would wreak Naruto’s mind with the limitless futures available to her, causing her to lose track of reality, as her mind wandered a plane that humans were never meant to enter.

 

For now, with the Kyuubi allowing the barest trickle through, it merely nudged her in certain directions or drew her to individuals that would be important to her future. They had released a little more last night, when she was safely ensconced in bed, and Naruto had gone nearly catatonic after a few minutes. It wasn’t even particularly useful, since her mind would shove the information and sensations away after each attempt, in order to preserve her sanity.

 

_ Dark, looming trees- yellow eyes over faceless bodies- black flames dancing on the face of a red-eyed boy- a waterfall of sand- a discordant harmony- silver branches wrapping her body close- a beetle with a thousand faces and a forked tongue. _

 

_ ‘At least we know that the survival task is likely to be in a forest setting, _ ’ Kurama soothed, in a softer tone.  _ ‘I believe there is one more chakra-scape that would interest you. Shukaku’s jinchuuriki has entered the room. He feels like the remorseless desert sun glaring down into a whirling sandstorm.’  _

 

Inadvertently, a sense of anticipation rose in the blonde, as her eyes scanned the room for blood red hair. Logically, she knew that this boy was her enemy today, and born into madness regardless… 

 

_ ‘Kyu, you can protect me from an angry Shukaku, right?’ _ Naruto asked, just to be sure.   

 

_ ‘With my chakra and your healing, you won’t die brat,’  _ Kurama grudgingly admitted, ‘ _ I’m not intervening unless you’re in the brink of death though. I won’t deal with the embarrassment of publicly admitting that I have a weak host. _ ’

 

_ ‘Works for me!’  _ Naruto replied brightly. The first test was scheduled to begin in half an hour, Sasuke and Sakura should be here in around five minutes, and there were officials stationed nearby. As long as she didn’t set the obviously homicidal boy off, the Uzumaki would get a few wonderful moments of immersing herself into his chakra, and knowing that a precious link would be forged one day.

 

All three of the Kazekage’s children noticed her approach, but it was only Sabaku no Gaara’s impassive gaze that Naruto’s ocean blue eyes happily met. Her chakra sense registered a brief jump that she associated with surprise, and it came from all of the siblings when she stopped a few arm's length away from the shortest ninja.

 

“Sabaku no Gaara,” the blonde greeted, an easy smile on her face. “Hello.”

 

“Naruto Uzumaki,” Gaara returned, an odd expression crossing his face, “What are you doing here?”

 

“I wanted to see you,” Naruto replied, ignoring the choked sound from the redhead’s puppeteer brother, “How do you like Konoha?”

 

“It’s fine,” the other jinchuuriki answered. When he didn’t add anything else, it became clear to the Uzumaki that if this friendship was to go anywhere, she would have to make the first move. And presumably every move thereafter, until the red-haired boy realized that her offer was genuine.

 

“There are many wonderful tourist spots around Konoha,” Naruto continued, “Have you seen them?”

 

This time the boy only shrugged, and the Uzumaki was momentarily depressed that even this minimal interaction was backtracking.

 

“Have you visited the Hashirama Gardens by the north sector?” she inquired, “They have a beautiful tunnel of cherry blossom trees that the Shodaime initially grew for his wife’s birthday. They’re always in full bloom, and it’s said that adding those cherry blossom petals to a tea will make the sweetest drink in the Land of Fire.”

 

“...I have not,” was Gaara’s contribution. 

 

Naruto clapped her hands together, and looked earnestly into teal eyes. “Would you like to go there with me? There’s a great picnic spot there, that my otouto and I always went to on the Spring Festival. It would be a shame if you visited Konoha, but didn’t get to see any of our city’s treasures.”

 

“A-are you asking him out on a  _ date _ ?!” Kankuro finally couldn’t contain himself anymore, as his shock for situation outgrew his fear of his brother.

 

“W-well,” Naruto’s pale-gold skin was suffused in a light blush. She carefully studied Gaara’s features, and didn’t see disgust at the notion on the rather cute face. “Yes?”

 

The Uzumaki wasn’t sure if she was coming off as too strong though, so she added. “It would also be my duty as a Konoha ninja to ensure that our distinguished guests were able to experience every wonder that our village can offer.”

 

“You don’t have to do that,” the dusky-blonde interrupted, sending a nervous look in Gaara’s direction, “We can check it out on our own time.”

 

_ ‘It’s nice of her to try and warn me about her brother, _ ’ the Uzumaki decided, before awkwardly chuckling. “Yes, but it’s not any trouble for me. I’m not even offering to do it for selfless reasons. After this test, I really would like to go on a date with you, Gaara. What do you say?”

 

The boy with the blood red hair and teal eyes look at her with a confused expression. “No.”

 

The Uzumaki wilted. Internally, the Kyuubi chuckled as his tenant’s first request for a date was soundly rejected.

 

_ ‘Kyu, what am I doing wrong?’  _ Naruto mentally whined.

 

_ ‘Not a clue. Your mother didn’t have to put in nearly this much effort to get your father’s attention. Maybe you’re just ugly? I told you to comb your hair more.’ _

 

_ ‘You’re so mean to me, Kyu...’  _ the blonde moped, as a loud sound drew her attention to the doorway, ‘ _ At least the teme came in at the right time to let me run away and lick my wounds. _ ’

 

_ ‘Don’t let it get you down brat. You have over a month until the exams are done, and it’s not like a crowd of other girls are fighting for the redhaired brat’s attention. _ ’

 

Kurama’s advice did make her perk up slightly, and she was even able to offer a gracious smile to the sand siblings. “Very well then, Gaara. My teammates need me now, but I hope to see you again.”

 

“Go away, Naruto Uzumaki,” the redhead frowned, “Or I will kill you, and feed your blood to Mother.”

 

“You can try, Gaara.” Despite Naruto’s friendly expression, there was a hint of warning in her words. “But I’m not afraid of your mother, and I’m not afraid of you either.”

 

With those words, the Uzumaki swiftly turned and made her way to the gathering of other rookies by the door. Although her first attempt at building  _ something _ positive had been rejected, there was a sense of contentment around the blonde. The simple presence of Sabaku no Gaara electrified her, and Naruto Uzumaki had never been one to let a simple setback keep her down for long.

 

x


	4. Chapter 4

_ ‘The boy with the grey hair and glasses has Jounin level chakra,’  _ Kurama announced, as the blonde stepped closer. ‘ _ There’s a strange tint around it, and I sense negative emotions, mostly envy and greed, and when he looked at the Uchiha.’ _

 

_ ‘Most people feel envy or greed when they look at the teme,’  _ the blonde thought, a wary feeling entering her chest. Gaara’s chakra drew her like a moth to a flame, Itachi’s chakra had relaxed her as though she was entering a comforting hug, and Konohamaru’s chakra made her feel playful and protective. But the main feeling that this teen produce was an overwhelming urge to punch his perfectly friendly face in.

 

_ ‘I don’t like him,’  _ she concluded, stepping protectively into her male teammate’s shadow. “Hey guys! Did you start the party without me?”

 

“It wouldn’t be a party without you,” Kiba said, affably raising his hand for a quick fist bump, “Ready to dominate these exams, deadlast?”

 

“You’ll find out when I kick you to the kennel, dog breath,” Naruto smirked. She liked her formed Inuzuka classmate. He was loyal, good-natured, and helped her spike the teme’s water bottle with chilli powder once. “Good to see you, Hinata, Shino, Choji, Ino.  _ Shikamaru _ .” 

 

Her opponent in the art of Academy mediocrity merely sighed. “Troublesome woman.”

 

When their overall academic scores had been calculated, Naruto was dismayed to learn that all of her hard work was for nothing.  _ Shikamaru Nara _ ranked the deadlast of her class, and if he wasn’t slated for the next generation’s Ino-Shika-Cho team, her plan would have been entirely wasted. And sure, the blonde didn’t necessarily  _ like _ her shinobi team, but she still begrudged the lazy genius for scoring lower than she did.

 

“H-hello Naruto-san,” the blue-haired Hyuuga shyly waved, “I-It’s good to s-see you!”

 

“You too, Hinata,” Naruto replied nervously, moving slightly behind the teme’s back. If there was one member of her Academy class that freaked Naruto out, it was Hinata Hyuuga. Not because she was particularly scary- Hinata was the sweetest girl she knew- but because the constant stare of those blank, pupiless eyes  _ unnerved _ her like nothing else. There were even times outside of school that Naruto swore she could feel its judgemental gaze on her back. 

 

It was rather off-putting for the self-declared Queen of Pranksters. 

 

“Kabuto-san was about to share his nin info cards,” Ino said, as the grey haired teen withdrew something from his pocket. Naruto almost mistook it for one of her sealing decks, when she saw that the blank orange cards were each slightly larger than her own ones. 

 

“I have information on almost every ninja here,” Kabuto explained, focusing on Sasuke, “Since you’re all rookies, I’ll share some of my intel with you.”

 

“Rock Lee,” Sasuke immediately demanded, “And Sabaku no Gaara.”

 

“You already know their names? That makes it too easy,” Kabuto said, eyes never leaving the Uchiha’s face as his hands flickered through the cards. He didn’t even look at the deck, as he withdrew one, and channeled chakra into it. Naruto was immediately envious that she could not do the same. 

 

“Rock Lee,” Kabuto read out, “He’s one year older than you. Mission experience includes 20 D-ranks and 11 C-ranks. His sensei is Maito Gai, a taijutsu specialist. As a result, his hand-to-hand combat skills have increased exponentially over the past year, though his skills in ninjutsu and genjutsu are nonexistent. He’s got everyone’s attention last year as a skilled rookie genin, but he didn’t take the exam. This is his first time, like you. His teammates are Tenten Higurashi and Neji Hyuuga.”

 

“Next, let’s see Sabaku no Gaara,” the next card had a scowling redhead on the top, “His mission experience is 8 C-ranks, and- amazing! He did a B-rank mission as a Genin. He is a foreign ninja and this is his first time taking this test, so I don’t have any more information on him.”

 

“He sounds so strong,” Chouji nervously commented, shoving a few chips into his mouth.

 

“I wouldn’t want to face him in a fight,” Ino shuddered. Sasuke’s eyes positively gleamed.

 

_ ‘That’s not very impressive,’ _ Kurama said grumpily from her head, ‘ _ My jinchuuriki has an A-rank mission _ and _ a B-rank mission to her name… the Old Man did register you for a solo B-rank mission after Mizuki’s capture, didn’t he?’ _

 

_ ‘Yes, Kyu, you remain the best Bijuu in the Elemental Countries, _ ’ Naruto assured, ocean blue eyes gleaming, ‘ _ This is interesting though. I’m guessing that Gaara didn’t get his advanced missions by mistake. He’s very strong, and inherited Shukaku’s standard gift to his tenants. I should warn them. _ ’

 

“His teammates are his older siblings, Temari and Kankuro,” the Uzumaki inserted, “Temari has a giant fan, so I’m guessing that she’s a proficient wind user. Kankuro uses a puppet, so he needs to have good chakra control. Gaara is the most powerful one of them all; he can subconsciously control sand, and his chakra levels are very high.”

 

The others stared at her. “And how do you know that?” Sakura demanded.

 

“Well these exams are about making friends, aren’t they?” the blonde shrugged, “I made a friend.”

 

Naruto refused to answer any of their other questions, and soon drifted to the back of the group. Then Kabuto said something idiotic, the Sound nin with the hollow arms attacked, and they were ushered into a big testing room. Taking a seat next to Hinata, Naruto barely stopped herself from scowling. She hated tests.

 

The exam proctor was interesting though. What was Ibiki Morino, the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, doing here?

 

When Naruto flipped over her exam page, her ocean blue eyes widened in dismay.

 

_ ‘I can’t answer these questions!’ _ Naruto looked them over,  _ ‘They’re all well beyond Genin level, and even Chuunin level for some. The basic seal cipher is doable, but I don’t know to pair that information with Kusa’s military history. Kyu, you’re supposed to be ancient, do you know any of this?’ _

 

_ ‘I was sealed into your mother, brat, not your father,’  _ Kurama snorted, _ ‘He was the academic genius that wouldn’t need to cheat to answer these. You do.’ _

 

_ ‘If I get caught, then they’ll take away two points though,’  _ the Uzumaki paused, ‘ _ Two points? The purpose of this exam is to cheat?’ _

 

_ ‘That’s what everyone else is doing,’  _ the Kyuubi lazily replied,  _ ‘Even that redhaired killer of yours.’ _

 

Naruto discretely looked around the room, and saw that the Bijuu was correct. Hinata and Sasuke had their dojutsu active, Ino was slumped forward in her chair, and Akamaru was trotting around the room, and occasionally barking out loud. Even Gaara’s floating sand eyeball, while impressive, didn’t convey the barest subtlety. The proctors didn’t seem to care how badly you cheated, as long as you weren’t going out of your way to be caught.

 

When a kunai flew into the desk of the older teen sitting in front of her, Naruto stood corrected. Apparently there were some individuals that were simply just _ that _ bad when it came to cheating. 

 

_ ‘My attempt won’t be much better,’ _ the blonde accepted,  _ ‘I have to develop less battle-focused cards soon. This is an embarrassing hole in my shinobi skill set.’  _ She took one card out of her pocket, channeled a bit of chakra inside, and then, when the proctor was about to walk by, threw it down.

 

“Wha- HEY!” Her former drinking partner, Izane, shouted, as the freeze tag released a torrent of icy water onto him. His arms windmilled in the air, valiantly trying to keep his balance, before he lost the battle with the slippery floor, and crashed down. There was a flurry of movement, as everyone’s attention was drawn to the fallen proctor. Another loud shout when one of his flying kicks knocked the leg out from another desk to her right. 

 

“Attention! Attention! GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS, YOU MAGGOTS!” Ibiki Morino shouted.

 

When order was settled a few minutes later, a grinning blonde was erasing ‘Takeo Mori’ from the name part of her freshly completed exam.

 

x

 

_ ‘Haha, look at all of these foolish ninken suffer,’  _ Kurama cackled, after Chouji’s outburst about his lack of supplies, ‘ _ Yes, ninken, you may choke on the poisonous flora of your forest, while my jinchuuriki feasts on the survival food that I advised her to bring. _ ’

 

_ ‘Protein bars and prepackaged meals aren’t exactly common to the feast category, Kyu,’ _ was Naruto’s dry reply, as she signed Anko’s release form. 

 

The ominous rustling wind and ancient, gnarled boughs of the Forest of Death led credence to her vision, and made her grateful to have packed a basic map of the Forty-Fourth Training Ground. At the same time, she was a bit annoyed that her foresight worked, because that would only lead to Kurama pressing for more practice with the painful skill.

 

‘ _ They shall hunger for it after the first night,’ _ the Kyuubi smugly replied, before a hint of ire entered his tone, ‘ _ Why is the Uchiha the one holding your team’s scroll? _ ’

 

_ ‘Because it’s too much effort to steal it away from him?’ _ the blonde suggested. “Guys, you can wait for me at our gate. There’s something I want to do first.”

 

She ignored their objections, and hurried over to the lonely boy with the blood red hair. “Hello Gaara.”

 

Teal eyes blinked at her widely grinning face. “Naruto Uzumaki?”

 

There was something in the way that he said her name, with confusion and hesitance, that Naruto found surprisingly endearing. “How was the first test?”

 

Gaara merely stared at her for a few moments longer, before he frowned. “Naruto Uzumaki, what are you doing here? Why are you speaking to me?”

 

“I’m trying to have a conversation,” Naruto responded, shoving her hands into the pockets of her orange-and-black coat, “Be my friend?”

 

She ignored Kankuro’s surprised wheeze, and the noiseless protest that Temari tried to make. All of her attention was on the reflective teal eyes of her fellow jinchuuriki; a boy’s whose chakra thrummed with friendship and trust, even as he gazed at her with perplexion and apathy.

 

A frown appeared on his face. “I don’t need any friends. I do not want to be your friend.”

 

“Everyone needs a friend,” the blonde argued, sympathy filling her. She didn’t have the most pleasant childhood, but it was quickly becoming clear that the Kazekage’s youngest son had a far worse one. “And I’m going to be yours.”

 

“You are a strange person, Naruto Uzumaki,” Gaara scowled, “I am not sure that I want to feed your blood to Mother. But I will kill you, if you do not walk away now.”

 

“I told you that your Mother doesn’t scare me,” Naruto said, an exasperated quirk to her lips. “You need to think of something better than that to drive me away.”

 

She withdrew a folded piece of paper from her shinobi pocket, and then turned to surprised dark green eyes. “I would gift this to your brother, but I don’t think he’ll want to accept it from me.”

 

Sabaku no Temari gingerly accepted the paper, and unwrapped it. A small gasp escaped her mouth. “You’re giving us a map of the forest?”

 

“I doubt you’ll need it, but I would like to give it to you anyway,” Naruto shrugged. She offered the upset red-haired boy one last enigmatic smile. “I’ll see you later, Gaara. Reconsider the visit to the Hashirama Gardens, okay?”

 

Walking away, her thoughts were filled bewildered teal eyes and blood red hair that reminded her of Kushina Uzumaki, when Kurama’s voice broke into her thoughts.

 

_ ‘Brat! There’s a Kage-level chakra signature here,’ _ the Kyuubi warned urgently, ‘ _ The Grass Nin with the long tongue is practically brimming with negative emotions. You need to tell someone! _ ’

 

_ ‘A Kage-level shinobi?’ _ the blonde squeaked, almost tripping over her own feet. It was only Kurama’s chakra anchored to her limbs that stopped her from giving anything away. _ ‘Do you know who?’ _

 

_ ‘Orochimaru,’ _ Kurama spit out, _ ‘The Snake ninken once sparred with your mother; his chakra is easily recognizable to me. You need to drop out of these exams.’ _

 

_ ‘Won’t that prove that I know there’s something suspicious going on?’  _ Naruto demanded. Sasuke and Sakura were waiting near Gate 32, a Heaven scroll secured in the Uchiha’s pack. This direction was nearly opposite to the hidden Orochimaru, and the blonde barely stopped herself from running to her teammate's side. ‘ _ What the hell is he doing here?’ _

 

_ ‘Orochimaru was obsessed with mastering every possible jutsu in the world,’  _ Kurama answered,  _ ‘And we have a handy pair of copy wheel eyes here, just waiting to be ripped out.’ _

 

_ ‘What do I do?’  _ Naruto asked nervously, _ ‘He’ll slaughter us all, if I reveal his identity now. Do you think Sasuke would listen to me?’ _

 

The Bijuu’s silence wasn’t necessarily comforting, as the Uzumaki pasted her usually bright smile on her face, and stepped closer to her teammates. The gates had partitions to allow some privacy to each of the teams, but the blonde kept her back to the others anyway. She didn’t want her lips to be read.

 

“Sasuke, we need to quit the exams,” she murmured, her stomach dropping as coal-black eyes narrowed, “There’s an S-rank missing nin here, and I think he wants to steal your Sharingan.”

 

“Don’t make up ridiculous lies dobe,” the Uchiha hissed back, “You can quit the exams if you want, but I’m entering that forest. The procter only said that all of the team members have to be alive, not that they have to reach the Tower too.”

 

“I wouldn’t joke about Orochimaru of the Sennin, te-  _ Sasuke _ ,” Naruto said furiously, “There’s a man in there that would like nothing more than to rip your eyes out, and you still want that petty promotion?”

 

For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, so she looked pleadingly at Sakura. “You believe me, Sakura, don’t you?”

 

The pinkette hesitated. “I don’t know,” she hedged, peeking at their male teammate, “It does sound far-fetched.”

 

Sasuke’s face hardened. “I’m going in there dobe. You can walk away like the coward you are.”

 

“I can see that you still don’t trust me as a teammate, teme,” Naruto spit out, turning around and walking towards the gate, “Now you’re bringing the three of us into the most dangerous fight that we’ll ever have.”

 

The blonde blinked ocean blue eyes rapidly- she was _ not _ crying, dammit- as her hands formed the sign for a single Kage Bunshin. She scribbled down a quick note, pasted a tracker seal on herself, and passed the other half of the card to her clone. With any luck, they would be able to get help in time.

 

_ ‘Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash.’  _ Naruto’s hands clenched tightly. She would be walking into a deadly arena, where the poisonous flora, giant leeches, carnivorous centipedes, and massive tigers wouldn’t be an issue. Not compared to the S-rank madman that would hunt her down like prey.

 

_ ‘I always said that the other Uchiha should have killed his little brother too,’  _ Kurama grouched.

 

x

 

Temari’s POV

 

Naruto Uzumaki was an idiot.

 

She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pint-sized twelve-year-old child, and she was an idiot.

 

Temari couldn’t find any other description, after her cursory search on the blonde girl. It turned out that she wasn’t the granddaughter of the Sandaime, though she had been all-but-adopted into his family. With the venerable Hokage taking interest in her, she should have scored higher than the deadlast position in her Academy. At the very least, she should have shown the basic survival instinct to avoid Sabaku no Gaara.

 

Naruto Uzumaki had a death wish.

 

She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pint-sized twelve-year-old child, and she had a death wish.

 

Temari couldn’t think of any other reason why she would stare at her youngest brother with such naked fascination written on her face. It was true that Gaara wasn’t followed by the homicidal killer reputation that he had built up in Suna, but his bloodthirst and madness were still obvious. Only the Uzumaki seemed indifferent to this, as she offered her wide and slightly goofy grin, plied her confused brother with date requests, and shared a map of the forest with her opponents. 

 

Naruto Uzumaki was distracting Gaara.

 

She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pint-sized twelve-year-old child, and she was distracting Gaara. 

 

Temari didn’t even think that was possible, until the Uzumaki had done it. Her younger brother was too confused by the blonde girl’s crazy actions, to pay much attention to her or Kankuro. There was a perpetual frown on his face since the Uzumaki entered their life, but he hadn’t attempted to kill a single person in Konoha. Yesterday, she had seen him hunched over a book on social etiquette, possibly trying to learn whether or not the blonde had insulted him yet. Temari had worn a ghost of smile as she fell asleep that night.

 

Naruto Uzumaki was an idiot, with a death wish, that had a knack for distracting Gaara.

 

Temari rather hoped that she didn’t die anytime soon. The dusky blonde genin was starting to enjoy the momentary peace her presence brought.

 

x


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto was so nervous about being attacked in the forest that she jumped at every loud noise and crawling shadow. When a bird chirp caused the blonde to nearly throw her kunai, Sasuke finally snapped. “Stop jumping around like that dobe! The test just started- no one’s going to attack us.”

 

“Not yet maybe,” the Uzumaki bit back, still holding tightly to her weapon. _ ‘Kyu, can you sense anything?’ _

 

_ ‘There’s one ninja ahead of us, but he doesn’t have enough chakra to be Orochimaru,’ _ Kurama reported, ‘ _ I’ve thought about the situation brat, and I think that we’ll survive. I can channel enough chakra over you to increase your speed exponentially, and you can outrun the Snake. It won’t last for long, so we’ll make a break for either the Tower or the gates, depending on which is closer.’ _

 

_ ‘What about the teme and Sakura?’  _ Naruto demanded.

 

_ ‘I’m not a miracle worker brat. If they didn’t want to die young, then they should have listened to their betters. Besides, one of the reasons that you’ll be safe, is because the Snake is obsessed with the Sharingan and won’t bother to chase you. You know, if he kills the Uchiha, then I might just have to take back some of the bad things that I said about him.’ _

 

Her teammates were still glaring at her, so Naruto resisted the urge to slap her forehead.  _ ‘You’re impossible, Kyu.’  _

 

“Where are you going Naruto?” Sakura asked impatiently, as the blonde jumped into the trees.

 

“Bathroom break!” the Uzumaki responded, over her shoulder. She followed Kurama’s directions several meters forward, creating a single Kage Bunshin as she slipped through some obscuring foliage. The Kage Bunshin landed in a small clearing, and made a show of looking around, before stepping into the bushes. The real Naruto perched on a tree branch above. 

 

_ ‘I honestly did not think that they could be so inept,’ _ Kurama commented, as an older boy with spiky brown hair, a cream-colored jumpsuit, and breathing mask entered the clearing, and didn’t bother to look around,  _ ‘I think that I appreciate you much more now, brat.’ _

 

“Come on out, little Konoha nin, _ ” _ the teen crooned out, “I have a handful of poisoned senbon trained on you right now, and there’s nowhere to run. You should give up your scroll now.”

 

_ ‘I love you too, Kyu,’  _ the Uzumaki sarcastically replied, as a wide-eyed blonde Bunshin stepped out, with her hands up.

 

“I- I don’t have m-my team’s scroll,” the tremulous voice was matched by glassy blue eyes, “Please, I-I’m just a r-rookie…”

 

The Ame ninja chuckled. “Then you shouldn’t have entered a contest with the big boys, little girl. But you know, you are kind of pretty…” 

 

_ ‘Why do you always attract the weirdoes, brat?’ _

 

_ ‘Because they can sense a fellow madman in my head, Kyu.’ _

 

“Maybe we can come to some kind of deal,” the teen winked, stepping closer. Even Naruto’s top-notch acting skills couldn’t hide the mildly repulsed look on the Bunshin’s face. Not that the foreign shinobi would react to it, as the cool blade of a kunai was pressed against his ribs.

 

The teen froze, and looked back. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale-gold skin. “Wha?”

 

“Where’s your scroll?” the Bunshin demanded, and the Ame teen gulped, when he turned to find that the identical blonde had stepped closer. Her previously teary expression had been replaced with a devious smirk and a single card twirled between her fingers.

 

“Hot identical twins?” the teen whispered, almost reverentially, before recognizing his position, “I don’t know! My team and I got seperated, and I wasn’t given the scroll.”

 

The Bunshin raised her eyebrows. “I don’t believe you.” Then she slammed the glowing seal card on the teen’s body.

 

“Aaahh!” The Ame nin’s body convulsed as 800 volts of electricity ran through his clothes and shocked his body. There was a second where his body slumped over and desperately gasped for air, when the Bunshin withdrew the card, but then she applied it again. “Aaahh! Please, please stop! I’ll tell you!”

 

“If you try to lie to me, then I’ll soak you with water and electrocute you again,” the Bunshin warned.

 

“It’s in my pockets,” he sobbed, limbs twitching sporadically. Naruto ignored this, as she withdrew her ninja wire, and tied him up. 

 

The Bunshin quickly stripped him of the scroll, a few packs of senbon, two spools of ninja wire, a brace of shuriken, and… “Why did he bring an umbrella to the Land of Fire?”

 

“No idea, just pack it with the rest,” Naruto waved it off, stuffing a piece of cloth into the boy’s mouth, “The ropes are loose enough that you should be able to get out after a few hours. The gates are close enough that you shouldn’t be attacked by any lethal animals. And I’m generous enough to leave you here alive. Don’t follow my team. Got it?”

 

The teen rapidly shook his head, and the blonde sighed. “You’re such a wimp. I don’t think Gaara would have broken so easily.”

 

‘ _ Your mother was just as sadistic as you are, and for some reason, your father chose to pursue her anyway,’  _ Kurama mused from within her mind,  _ ‘You know, it never ceases to surprise me that there are men in this world that will see an Uzumaki woman in action, and think ‘yes, that’s the type of woman that I want to mate with’. _ ’

 

‘ _ Well he had to be brave, if he wanted to be the Hokage,’ _ Naruto answered, ignoring the teen’s look of disappointment as the Bunshin dispelled into a cloud of smoke, and she headed back to her team.  _ ‘Another Heaven scroll isn’t going to get us out of the forest any faster.’ _

 

_ ‘Keep it with you anyway,’  _ the Bijuu advised, _ ‘It may be a useful spare or bargaining tool, later on. Just don’t tell those worthless ningen about it.’ _

 

The Uzumaki heeded his words, and merely waved off her teammate’s irritated grumblings when she returned. For the next two hours, they were able to make a steady pace towards the center of the forest- Sasuke even condescended to smile, when she revealed the map- though the blonde kunoichi was still wary. Her nerves were so frazzled, that she almost missed the pricking feeling at the edge of her consciousness.

 

Kurama did not.  _ ‘Brat, there’s a massive wave of chakra approaching us!’ _

 

“Naru- HEY!” Sakura’s shout was cut short, as her female teammate tackled her into the ground. 

 

Naruto’s eyes closed tightly, using her sensor ability to make anything out of the broken branches and dust that filled in the air. There was a huge chakra presence rapidly moving closer, and Sasuke was to her right, using the tree-walking ability to stay on the ground. The pinkette’s body was frozen in shock beneath her, but the Uzumaki barely noticed as her glowing hands stuck her to place.

 

Then another image- the dispelled Bunshin from the gate- flitted into her mind, and Naruto’s tenuous chakra control snapped.

 

_ ‘Kami-freaking-damned-timing!’ _ the blonde swore, as the wind propelled her body backward. There were times when the Uzumaki’s slender figure and lightweight body worked to her advantage. Being blown back by a massive, overpowered Gale Palm jutsu was not one of those times.

 

_ ‘This- ow- fucking- kill- dammit- teme- aah! _ ’ She was hit by four different tree branches- and the one on her thigh was definitely going to bruise later- before the blonde could reorient herself. Still keeping her eyes closed, she pasted blue chakra into her palms and randomly tried to grab at the larger obstacles. The rough tree bark ripped through her uncallused hands with ease, causing the blood to smear against the wood, but at least she was able to land on her own two feet.

 

There was a moment of dizziness- _ ‘Open your eyes brat!’ _ \- and disorientation, where Naruto felt her body inadvertently jerked upward again. When she opened her eyes, it was to pitch darkness, but the sensation of falling caused her legs to snap out involuntarily, with feet lined in chakra. There was the slick, moist sound of her shinobi sandals sinking into a hot, gelatinous substance, before the Uzumaki slowed to a stop.

 

The blonde was momentarily silent. _ ‘Kyu, where am I?’ _

 

_ ‘Inside of a giant snake summon,’  _ was the helpful response. Her surroundings then began to rumble ominously.  _ ‘I think you’re stuck in his throat.’ _

 

_ ‘Oh,’  _ Naruto replied weakly. _ ‘I think I want to kill the teme now.’ _

 

Kurama then proved himself to be the best partner ever, when he ignored her justified bashing of her male teammate, to bark her into action. The fox directed her to an area just below the esophagus, where the snake’s scales would be thin, and Naruto promptly used her entire deck’s worth of exploding tags. When she tumbled out of the dying summon, it was to a vicious glee that it died before it could return to the Summoned Land, and receive help from its kinsman. 

 

_ ‘Shame that we can’t harvest it for a snakeskin coat,’  _ Kurama said hopefully,  _ ‘Do you want to stay here and skin it?’ _

 

The answer was yes. Yes, she did want to stay, and kick the corpse that left her mildly traumatized and covered in revolting snake slime. But Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were in trouble now, and no matter how much they mocked, bickered, and fought with her, Team 7 was _ her _ team. 

 

_ Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. _

 

Naruto focused her attention on the giant chakra presence screaming against her mind, overruled every survival instinct inside of her, and ran headlong into battle. When she landed on a tree beside Sakura, she found her teammates paralyzed with killing intent. And low and behold, there was another giant, Kami-bedamned snake approaching them.

 

_ ‘Someone received the note. Backup is coming, _ ’ the blonde told herself, activating several freeze tags, and covering the summon with a flood of icy water. She neatly backflipped over its lunge, kicked it in the eye, and then withdrew a shock tag. 

 

“Kaishi,” Naruto whispered triumphantly, throwing it forward. The resulting light show triggered a high-pitched shriek, similar to a human scream, before a massive plume of smoke covered the area.

 

Sasuke took this time to shout at the oddly attractive dark-haired woman that Kurama claimed was Konoha’s greatest  _ male _ traitor. He offered their Heaven scroll too, to which he was only lucky that they were fighting for their very lives right now. Otherwise, Naruto would have bashed the teme over the head for such a stupid move.

 

The blonde reached into the shinobi pouch strapped to her left thigh, and withdrew another seal deck. The freeze and shock cards were stacked together, at the bottom, and would make a devastating combo for ninja that weren’t freaking Sannin.  _ ‘I know that shinobi aren’t supposed to fight fairly, but this is ridiculous.’  _

 

Sasuke redeemed himself a moment later, when he pulled off a genuinely impressive wire-and-kunai trick, followed by a massive plume of fire, that managed to do real damage. He landed beside her, panting and wide-eyed, when the destroyed body proved to be a mud clone. That was when Naruto threw her fully-powered cards at the Sannin.

 

“You shouldn’t be interfering in Sasuke-kun’s test,” the pale-skinned man hissed, turning yellow eyes towards her. A wave of oppressive killing intent caused her limbs to lock up, as he leapt towards her.

 

_ ‘Dodge brat _ !’ Burning, powerful, painful,  _ demonic _ chakra cloaked her, and Naruto’s foot snapped the thick branch in half, as she jumped away. The Kyuubi’s malevolent chakra thrummed through her veins, drawing up all of her anger and hatred and killing intent for _ this _ blasted man, and the Uzumaki threw herself forward.

 

The first punch propelled the Sannin back, but the second one destroyed the tree he dodged behind. Naruto’s body was moving at a speed and power that she was entirely unaccustomed to, and, as she ignored Kurama’s demands to flee, it almost felt like this battle could be won.

 

Then her back was hitting the tree, a hand was wrapped around her throat, and Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin was staring down at her, maliciously. “I should have known that you would be  _ his _ daughter. I think it’s time that you stopped fighting me, little girl.”

 

“Art of Fuuinjutsu: Five Elements Seal!” 

 

‘ _ Get the fuck away from her, Snake! _ ’ Naruto almost choked as the malevolent chakra in her spiked, causing her airways to close in. A thick, tail-like appendage of bubbling, red chakra formed over her stomach and batted the Sannin’s purple-glowing fingers to the side. Orochimaru tossed her body away instinctively, making her fly backwards until she crashed against a tree.

 

_ ‘He’s only toying with us, brat! He doesn’t want to kill you. Flee! _ ’

 

‘ _ Can’t leave- teme- alone! _ ’ Naruto tried to lift her head up, but her entire body felt like it was dying.

 

_ ‘I won’t let you die for an Uchiha, brat. I’m sorry.’ _

 

Those were the last words she would hear, before the floodgates opened. Kurama released his control of her gift of foresight, and a virtual wave of images deluged her mind. The blonde was overwhelmed.

 

_ Giants toads with platters of steamed flies- an emerald x-mark below a curtain of brown- five black pipes skewered into a bush of silver thorns- the ring-rippled eyes of a gaunt shadow- crimson hair stark against the golden sand- a cursed necklace given in hope- a whirling blue sphere in the hands of a white-cloaked blonde man…  _

 

Her last sight, before her eyelids fluttered into unconsciousness, was Orochimaru’s teeth sinking into the pale curvature of Sasuke’s neck.

 

x

Naruto Uzumaki had never had a hangover. Thanks to her Bijuu, she likely never would. However, she thought the throbbing head, nauseous feeling, pin-pricked eyes, and ash-blown mouth fit one. Trying to ignore the heavy weight to her body that begged her to stay down, Naruto extended her chakra.

 

_ ‘Enclosed space, running through with nature chakra. Sakura sitting beside another prone figure- Sasuke? Why did his chakra feel so abnormal?’  _ Naruto thought, ‘ _ Kyu, where am I? What happened? _ ’

 

Although there was the familiar presence of the Bijuu stirring against her mind, he refused to speak.

 

_ ‘Kyu, please talk to me,’ _ the Uzumaki begged, ‘ _ We’re in a training ground nicknamed the Forest of Death. Sakura is the only conscious, friendly support available, and there’s something wrong with the teme. The Snake Sannin might come back and slaughter us, at any moment. I’m  _ scared _. _ ’

 

_ ‘Aren’t you going to yell at me, brat?’ _ Kurama had an unusual tone lining his words.

 

‘ _ You… disregarded my wishes, crippled me in the middle of a battle, and forced me to abandon my teammates to Orochimaru, _ ’ Naruto answered warily, ‘ _ That action may or may not have saved my life. I don’t know. There’s a lot of things that I’m feeling right now, but this isn’t the time to argue about them. We need to move to safety, Kyuubi. _ ’

 

There wasn’t another reply, but when Naruto felt the trickle of red chakra in her system increase, she knew that Kurama had made an apology.

 

There was the uncomfortable, whirring sensation of bones locking into place, fractures growing whole, skin knitting together, and her near-empty chakra pools overflowing. The increased healing didn’t do much for the soreness of her muscles or the exhaustion battering her temples, but it was enough for the blonde’s eyes to peek open. They shut close a second later, as light seeped into her retina, but the second try was mildly more successful.

 

“Sa-ku-ra,” the blonde croaked. The soft noise almost echoed in their tiny shelter, causing her female teammate’s head to snap up, from its bowed position. Sympathy entered the Uzumaki as she the tears freely dripping from the pinkette’s face. 

 

“Naruto!” Sakura half-choked, half-gasped, in relief, as she hurried over. “Oh Kami, you’re alright! Don’t move. Let me get you some water.”

 

The pinkette raised her head slightly, placing it gently on her lap, before bringing a leather waterskin to her lips. Those stale and lukewarm drops tasted like the best drink Naruto had ever had. A few droplets dribbled down her chin, but the waterskin emptied faster than she had liked.

 

“I’m sorry. Most of the water was used to keep the clothes wet for Sasuke-kun’s fever,” Sakura apologized, “That man  _ did  _ something to him, and now he won’t wake up!”

 

“Orochimaru,” the blonde rasped, pulling her body up. A few of her muscles protested the active movement, but Kurama’s chakra was there to relax it, soon afterward. “Let me see.”

 

‘ _ The Snake’s Curse Seal of Heaven, _ ’ Kurama observed, ‘ _ It’s stronger than when I first saw it, on that female disciple of his. It releases corrupted chakra into the recipient, and has a one in ten survival rate. Death would arguably be kinder, since it corrodes the survivor’s minds. _ ’

 

_ ‘Teme has the worst luck. First his family is killed by Ita-  _ that man _ , and now a capital traitor is giving him hickeys. Can you do anything?’ _

 

_ ‘I would have trouble removing a seal like that from you, brat, and you were surrounded by my chakra from the womb. It would kill your teammate.’  _

 

“Sakura, the teme was bitten with a cursed seal that pours corrupted chakra into him,” Naruto reported, gently pushing the Uchiha’s head to the side, and taking a closer look at the seal, “There’s a part here, that’s supposed to draw out his worst nightmares, and another to weaken his mental defenses. It’s too strong for me to remove.”

 

The pinkette released a harsh sob. “You were right, Naruto. There was a madman after Sasuke-kun, and if we didn’t- if I listened- Sas-” 

 

SLAP! Sakura’s head snapped to the side, a rapidly reddening handprint forming on her cheek.

 

“An S-ranked ninja just attacked us, and put one of our teammates in a coma,” the Uzumaki said succinctly, “We need to bring Sasuke medical attention, as soon as we can. We are in a hostile area, and I’m not sure if I can protect us all, myself. This is  _ not _ the time for your hysterics, Sakura.”

 

Looking at the stunned jade eyes staring back at her, Naruto softened her tone. “Think of this as a mission. The overall goal is to bring our team to safety, in a location that ideally has medics. Our primary objective is to administer first aid, and work on a plan. Where are we now?”

 

“The wind blew us to the riverbed,” Sakura whispered, wide-eyed, “I think we’re closer to the Tower?”

 

“Right,” the Uzumaki sighed, closing her eyes, “Have any ninja closed in on our position?”

 

The Haruno shook her head, and Naruto barely bit back her curse. She checked the sleeve of her tattered black-and-orange jacket. Her half of the tracking seal glowed back at her innocently.

 

_ ‘They’re not coming. No one’s coming, _ ’ the blonde was stupefied. 

 

“W-we need to get the scrolls too,” Sakura added meekly, shrinking back from her teammate’s expression, “The man- Orochimaru- said that if we didn’t pass on to the next stage, then he would k-kill Sasuke-kun.”

 

_ ‘I think it’s clear what course we have to take then, brat. It’s a shame to lose your first Exam-’ _

 

‘ _ Shut up Kyu _ ,’ Naruto replied silently. “Right. Okay. We have a Heaven Scroll- yes, Sakura, I saw the teme hand it over to Orochimaru, but I stole another one during my bathroom trip. I also have supply scrolls with fresh water and prepackaged rations in my pouch. We should have enough for the next three days, if we’re careful with the food.”

 

The pinkette brightened up. “You’re a lifesaver, Naruto.”

 

“Let’s hope so,” the blonde responded wryly, reaching into her pockets, “This isn’t how I wanted to test the Chakra Absorption card, but it might be our best bet to keep Sasuke’s system intact.”

 

These were probably the worst conditions to experiment, but the teme’s furrowed brow and twisted face suggested that he was trapped in his own nightmares. And knowing the life that he had, Naruto bet that the seal had plenty of material to draw on.

 

_ ‘If there are any Kami listening to me now, please, please,  _ please _ let this work.’  _ She used one finger to hold her newest card against the Uchiha’s collarbone, and firmly stated, “Kaishi.”

 

During Naruto’s trial run, the inked seals on the card would glow gold, as blue chakra was sucked into its center. When the color transitioned from gold to orange-red, the card signalled that it was ready to explode. In this situation, sickly violet-black chakra  _ poured _ into her card, so quickly overloading the matrix that Naruto was lucky to jerk it away, before it could burst into fire.

 

‘ _ How can  _ chakra _ feel evil? _ ’ the blonde wondered, tossing the lit card to the ground. A whimper came from Sakura’s direction, as the card burned out, and left a black stain behind.

 

“That disgusting chakra is inside of Sasuke-kun?” the Haruno whispered.

 

“Yes, and we got some of it out,” Naruto breathed, a relieved smile crossing her face. The teme’s face smoothed a little, his characteristic good looks more evident in the calmness of sleep. “I’ll apply a few more, and see where they go. Can you set up some traps around… is this a cave?”

 

“A hollow opening in a tree, and I will,” the pinkette stood up, her head slightly bowed to not hit the low ceiling, “Naruto… thank you.”

 

The Uzumaki studied her silently, and then nodded. “Yeah, well no one has the right to beat the teme up, but me. Orochimaru can go and fuck himself.”

 

A small smile crossed Sakura’s face. “You and Sasuke-kun are both so stubborn and prideful… he doesn’t know how to accept gratitude either.”

 

Naruto didn’t know what to say to that, but the pinkette left soon after. She had eighteen Chakra Absorption cards with her, and, after they were all applied, there was a circle of burnt spots around the blonde. The Curse Seal of Heaven was still throbbing on the teme’s neck, but it had faded to a dark grey. The Uchiha’s fever had fallen, and his sleep almost appeared peaceful.

 

When Sakura returned, the blonde insisted that she take first watch, and allow the other girl some rest. The pinkette was too exhausted to put up much of a fight, so Naruto made a clone to keep watch, while she unpacked her trap kit. Sakura’s defenses were textbook perfect, but they lacked the creativity and lethality needed to get Team 7 out of this damned forest alive. Especially since most of Naruto’s card stock had been used up, and fuuinjutsu was her main form of combat.

 

They switched off around midnight, and it was in the early rays of the dawn, when Sakura shook her awake.

 

“There’s a team from Sound that wants to challenge Sasuke-kun,” the Haruno whispered to her.

 

Naruto opened irritated blue eyes. “You know,  _ I’m _ from a noble clan too, but there’s no one seeking  _ my _ death. It’s just like the teme to be surrounded by privilege, even when he’s in a freaking coma.”

 

The Uzumaki sat up, and rubbed her eyes. “There are two ropes on the left wall. Cut off the top one, and, when one of those idiots lands on the clearing, cut the other one. I’ll be up in a minute.”

 

She ignored the threats being shouted from outside of the hollow, as they were soon replaced by explosions and screams. Her female teammate must have been really emboldened by Orochimaru’s attacks, because she didn’t hesitate to the cut the second rope, after seeing the volley of acid balloons and smoke tags triggered by the first.

 

_ ‘So it seems that Sound is allied with Orochimaru,’ _ Kurama mused, ‘ _ He wouldn’t tip his hand just for the pinwheel eye. I wonder if he wants to kill the Old Man too. _ ’

 

The blonde paused. ‘ _ I’m painting the Old Man with tracking seals when this stupid test is done.’ _

 

Naruto Uzumaki would not characterize herself as a violent person, but one could not possibly tie one’s soul to the Kyuubi since birth, and not experience side effects. The blonde kunoichi stormed out of the shelter, withdrew her freeze and shock tags, broke the metallic arm of the bandaged teen, and then proceeded to interrogate them.

 

Rock Lee dropped by at one point, but Sakura was able to convince him to leave, without challenging anyone. The answers that Naruto received were vague at best, but she didn’t resort to injecting Kurama’s corrosive chakra into their bodies. In the end, a trade was made- Earth Scroll for their lives- and the Uzumaki stalked back to her team, utterly unsatisfied.

 

_ ‘Brat, there are some familiar signatures here,’ _ Kurama warned. 

 

Naruto channeled some chakra into her voice, and then spoke. “Team 8. You may notice that Sakura and I are not in the best mood. If you try to attack us now, then I promise that I  _ will  _ retaliate. With lethal force, if necessary.”

 

“We need to move,” Sakura said quietly, not even acknowledging her threat. The previous two days had built a solidarity between the girls, and Naruto had to admit that it was the only good thing to come out of the Orochimaru clusterfuck. “This place is too open.”

 

“I know,” Naruto breathed, extending her chakra sense, “Rock Lee is meeting up with his team now, but they’re heading away from us. Team 8 is also leaving. Pack up the camp, and I’ll make a few Kage Bunshin. We can carry Sasuke away from here, and head directly to the Tower.” 

 

She had never been more grateful for her chakra sensor ability than now, since they were able to avoid two ambushes on their way. Sakura carried the map, and flanked the Bunshin with the teme on her back. Naruto could have sworn that he stirred briefly once, before falling back into his fitful sleep. When the red-and-cream Tower entered their sights, the girls could have wept.

 

“I don’t care,” Sakura interrupted, causing the summoned Chuunin to huff in offense, “Train your mind and body equally to serve the village- got it. No one’s fucking listening to you. My teammate needs a medic  _ now _ !”

 

For the first time in two days, a genuine grin crossed the Uzumaki’s face. “What Sakura-chan said.”

 

x

 

Omake

 

“I want you to know that Naruto’s not normally this forward,” Kakashi assured, “She was actually one of the few girls that wasn’t a fangirl in the Academy. Her reaction to one of your students was surprising, but she only intends the best, and she’s a very sweet girl.”

 

Baki looked at the famous ninja that had approached him, and started spouting gibberish. “Huh?”

 

“Haven’t you seen the pre-exam video footage?” the masked ninja asked, surprised.

 

“No,” Baki sweated. His students, and it had to be either Kankuro or Gaara, hadn’t caused an incident with the Copy Cat ninja’s students, had they? “I apologize for what my student has done.”

 

“No need for that,” the Hatake exclaimed, “I mean he could have been more diplomatic about it, but your student has every right to reject a date.”

 

“Kankuro rejected one of your students?”

 

“Is that the name of the red-haired one?”

 

_ “Gaara _ rejected one of your students?!” 

 

x


	6. Chapter 6

The shower was running in the background, as Naruto- mindful of her grimy and dirty appearance- plopped down on the floor. Each of the teams were assigned a group room, though the owner of their third army-issued cot was resting in the medical center. Kakashi-sensei had applied an emergency Evil Sealing Method to the teme, which relied on his willpower to keep Orochimaru’s corruptive chakra at bay. Naruto had been rather doubtful of its effectiveness- Sasuke had a powerful will, but not necessarily one that would reject ill-gained power- but there were no better alternatives.

 

As their sensei applied the seal, Naruto and Sakura had to give a briefing to the Sandaime. The blonde had received her answer about the backup then. It turned out that the exam proctor, Anko, had received the note, and sent for additional help. She then personally entered the forest to track them down, but was waylaid by Orochimaru. The Sannin had threatened to kill all of the exam participants if the exam was disrupted, and rather than call the bluff of a madman, the Sandaime allowed it to progress. Was Naruto thrilled about this? No. Was it a sound tactical decision?

 

_ ‘Kyu, was that a sound tactical decision?’ _

 

_ ‘How am I supposed to know, brat? I’m an immortal force of nature. I overpower my way through my problems. When will it help me to stop and consider the decisions that will affect you weaker ningen?’ _

 

_ ‘Gosh, Kyu, it’s almost like you didn’t spend the last century imprisoned in the wives of two Kages.’ _

 

Naruto had swallowed her opinions about that decision, and moved to cover the incident with the Sound Team and her suspicion of the possible attack on the Sandaime. The adults had nodded to this, apparently unsurprised, before assuring the girls that the adults would handle the rest, and they should focus on the exams. It was honestly a responsibility that Naruto was glad to hand over; she was lucky to have survived ten minutes with Orochimaru, and she knew it. 

 

Before the genin were dismissed, the Old Man had complimented them on the bravery and resolve that they had displayed in the forest. Despite the fact that the Uzumaki was still ashamed of herself for blacking out in the end, she beamed at her honorary grandfather’s words. Her cheeks had been particularly red, when the Sandaime praised her novel way of counteracting the Curse Seal, claiming that it had drastically increased Sasuke’s survival rate. 

 

After that, the girls had been led to their rooms, and- after a pleading look towards Naruto- Sakura had dragged the three cots together. The Uzumaki was quietly relieved about this; she would definitely be having nightmares later. Now the pinkette was cleaning herself up, which allowed the blonde time to sit down, and reflect on Kurama’s actions.

 

Naruto Uzumaki had always known that she opened herself further to Kurama’s influence than either her great-aunt or her mother had. This had given her several advantages, such as access to a unique sensor ability, a powerful gift of foresight, more Bijuu chakra, and a snarky demonic sounding board. The drawbacks had never been a concern of hers, at least, not until now. Not until she realized that Kurama could completely shut her down at any point in her life, and was willing to do so.

 

Remembering the way that her mind was overwhelmed by her visions, and her body was forced out of her control, made her furious. It was more than the shame of abandoning her teammates mid-battle. It was the visceral terror of being entirely within someone else’s mercy.

 

_ ‘Kyu? I think I want to scream at you now.’ _

 

_ ‘Do you also want a pat of the head, a hug, and a promise to never do it again?’  _

 

_ ‘Stop trying to be sarcastic about this. You went against the pale. You destroyed my mobility, when I was fighting an S-ranked threat.’ _

 

_ ‘I won’t apologize for saving your life, brat.’ _

 

_ ‘You won’t apologize for anything, and I’m not asking you to. You and I had different objectives in that fight, and you made a decision that was sound for your objective. But it worked against mine, and it bothers me that you used a power I  _ trusted  _ you to have, to do that.’  _

 

_ ‘Are you telling me that you never considered how I could screw you over, brat?’ _

 

_ ‘I’m telling you that I always believed you were too honorable to do so,’  _ Naruto paused, _ ‘And… I still think that. I was six years old when we met for the first time, Kyu. You hated the Uchiha Clan the most, and you still do, but the Uzumaki and Senju Clans weren’t far behind. When I was naive enough to accept your power, you could have released it fully and broken my mind. You could still do that, but you didn’t then, and you don’t now.’ _

 

_ ‘This is not a conversation that I’m interested in having, brat,’  _ Kurama said flatly, _ ‘If you want to be sentimental, then go seek out your sand ningen.’ _

 

Naruto ignored him.  _ ‘As I got older, our powers over each other balanced out. You were an ancient Bijuu with limitless chakra, but your strength was limited by the seal. My body was the living prison that was holding you in, but I had the mentality and experience of a child. We could deal the same amount of damage to each other. Namely, we couldn’t deal any.’ _

 

_ ‘And now it feels like you’re at my mercy?’  _ The Kyuubi’s voice was sardonic, but Naruto was merely pleased that he hadn’t closed himself off yet. ‘ _ Fine, brat. If you promise to stop whining, then I will share a technique that your mother used to limit my influence. _ ’

 

The Uzumaki was stunned. ‘ _ You would give  _ me _ power over  _ you?’

 

_ ‘You dare imply that I, the great Kyuubi no Yoko, can be undermined by a fancy ningen trick? There is no one that holds dominion over me! Even those that may temporarily enslave me to slake their thirst for power are meaningless to the sands of time that enshroud their corpses. I will have no Master, for my strength is beyond that of ningen and-’ _

 

The blonde had tuned him out by then, a warm smile crossing her lips. She knew that  _ she _ cared for the Bijuu, but this was an almost overwhelming acknowledgement that Kurama cared for her too. And he trusted her, a member of the clan that had first enslaved him, to not abuse this power… 

 

_ ‘Why do you feel so content and satisfied, brat?’ _ the Kyuubi demanded, irritably, ‘ _ You better not be rejoicing in this supposed camaraderie that you think we have!’  _

 

Emotionally and mentally exhausted from everything that had occurred in the last two days, Naruto merely closed her eyes. And soon the blonde girl was curled up on the wooden floorboards of the Forest’s Tower, fast asleep.

 

x 

 

“ _ Naruto _ , Naruto, wake up,” Sakura’s softly insistent voice brought about her awakening. The gentle sound was immediately counteracted, when the blonde opened her eyes and saw a lovely- _ but way too close _ \- pair of jade eyes above her face.

 

“Aah!” the blonde shrieked, jerking backwards and hitting her head against the cot, “Ow!”

 

“Sorry, sorry!” her female teammate moved back, trying to stifle her giggles, “I didn’t want to scare you! But you’ve slept for awhile now, and, even with a pillow, your neck would be stiff after another few hours.”

 

The Uzumaki blinked confusedly, and looked down. Sakura had indeed pushed a pillow under her neck. “Damn. Now the pillowcase is covered in snake slime.”

 

“We have Sasuke-kun’s one, as a spare,” the pinkette suggested, her smile fading, “He won’t be returned from the medical center, until the second exam is over. I checked on him, but he hasn’t woken up from the coma though.”

 

Naruto pulled herself up, and twisted her body around to stretch her stiff back muscles. Then she regarded her jade-eyed teammate with trepidation. She wasn’t the best at comforting people, but… “The Old Man said that he would wake up soon, and the second exam will be completed in another three days. You know the teme will be up by then. He’s too much of a suck-up to fail a test.”

 

A sad smile crossed the other girl’s face. The pinkette was sitting on the floor, and hugging her knees tightly to herself. “Sasuke-kun will be fine. He’s strong, and so are you. I saw you two fight Orochimaru, while I stood still and waited to die. I saw you two fight the Chuunin in our last mission, and Zabuza, and his apprentice. I couldn’t do anything to help you then either.”

 

Naruto didn’t refute those statements, and the Haruno ducked her head into her knees. “I’m useless,” she mumbled.

 

_ ‘She is. She is absolutely useless,’  _ the Kyuubi agreed.  _ ‘...You’re going to keep her in the team anyway, aren’t you brat?’  _

 

“Sakura-chan,” the blonde grimaced, because that suffix was still new to her, “Orochimaru, Zabuza, and even Haku were above our strength when we fought them. We should never have faced them that early into our careers, and it’s a small miracle that we managed to survive each of them.”

 

The pinkette’s eyes widened. “But we did. You said that Orochimaru wanted to steal Sasuke-kun’s eyes. He’s not the only one that would attack us, is he?”

 

“No,” Naruto admitted, “Our past suggests that we’ll continue to face enemies way beyond our league. There’s no shame in being unable to fight them.”

 

“When my teammates can fight for me, and I can’t fight for them, then it is shameful,” Sakura disagreed vehemently. As though scared by the force of her own words, she ducked her head down again. “Naruto, I want to be a full member of this team. I want to be able to useful in a fight.”

 

“With your chakra reserves, you’ll never be a frontline fighter,” the Uzumaki said bluntly. “I’m not trying to put you down, Sakura. I think it’s admirable that you want to become a strong kunoichi, but the paths that the teme and I took won’t work for you. The Old Man started teaching me fuuinjutsu when I was six years old, and I’m barely into the Intermediate principles. The teme can afford to throw around massive fireballs, because he’s been honing his fire affinity since he was eight.”

 

“Then I’ll have to find my own role in the team,” Sakura replied, a determined cast to her face, “Um… do you know what could be?”

 

“You’re smart, and you have great chakra control,” Naruto shrugged, “Iryo ninjutsu and genjutsu are possibilities. Don’t limit yourself though. Take some time to build up your reserves, and look around for something that you can specialize in. And Sakura? Put your hair into a ponytail or something. Long, loose hair is a sign of strength, and neither of us can pull it off now.”

 

A small pout formed on the pinkette’s face. “Then I would have the same hairstyle as Ino!”

 

“You can always cut it?” Naruto offered. 

 

This time the grimace was even more visible. “But Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair!”

 

“That’s another thing that you’ll have to drop,” the blonde stated flatly, “I’d be a hypocrite if I told you to stop pursuing him, but there needs to be a distinct line between your kunoichi career and the teme. When you’re training or on missions, then that’s your first priority. When you’re not, then you need to learn better stalking techniques.”

 

“I don’t stalk him!” Sakura immediately protested, and then caught the dubious look on Naruto’s face. “Well, I mean, oh, shut up! You’ve made your point, Naruto. I’ll try to stop being a fangirl.”

 

“You don’t need to  _ stop _ being a fangirl,” the Uzumaki clarified, “But you  _ do _ need to put your career first. I may not like the teme, but he’s talented, good-looking, and ambitious. A lot of girls would consider him a catch, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of the fact that you’re on the same team as him. I mean, sure, he has the personality of a deadwood, wears too much hair gel, makes random ‘hnn’ sounds to get out of speaking-”

 

“Naruto!” Sakura shrieked, making the blonde reflexively put her hands up. But when she peeked through her fingers, it was to see the pinkette muffling her laughter. “That’s not funny! And deadwood personality? I saw the Kazekage’s youngest son downstairs. There’s no room for you to speak.”

 

“Gaara’s here?” The blonde perked up. She should have known that the jinchuuriki boy’s team would be strong enough to reach the Tower quickly.

 

Sakura nodded, sobering up. “I heard that his team was the first one here. They blew through the old record by over a day.”

 

Naruto beamed. “Well I told you that he was strong.”

 

“Hey, my man faced a Sannin and lived to tell the tale,” Sakura joked, “I think that means I win.”

 

“Mine has the Kazekage for a father,” Naruto poked her tongue out, “And his teal eyes are more exotic than the teme’s black ones.”

 

“I happen to like Sasuke-kun’s dark eyes,” the Haruno countered, “They’re so deep and mysterious.”

 

“500 ryo that he’s daydreaming about the next thing that he can set on fire,” the Uzumaki grinned. 

 

“1,000 ryo that Sabaku no Gaara runs away when he smells you,” Sakura stated. The two girls merely stared at one another, before simultaneously bursting into laughter.

 

_ ‘So this is what it’s like to have a girlfriend my own age. I like it,’ _ Naruto decided. “Give me ten minutes for a shower, and then we can find the cafeteria here.”

 

“Just take that disgusting pillow with you,” the pinkette shuddered, “Honestly, Naruto, how did you get snake slime all over your body?”

 

A second later. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE SNAKE ATE YOU?!”

 

x

 

In the end, Sakura chose to pull her waves of pink hair into a messy, low bun, and then spent the next ten minutes fretting about it.

 

“Do you think the bun makes my forehead look big?” The girl anxiously patted errant strands down. 

 

“No, you still have your bangs, Sakura,” Naruto rolled her eyes, “Not to mention that the teme is currently asleep and can’t appreciate your hairstyle anyway. It wouldn’t matter even if he  _ was _ awake, since twelve-year-old boys couldn’t care less about their teammate’s hair.”

 

When she finally dragged Sakura away from her handheld mirror, and only after the Haruno was able to brush down and retie her own hair, the girls headed for the lower levels. Sakura had found the cafeteria before, but had been too worried about the teme, to get anything of sustenance. Now they headed straight to the buffet bar at the west wall. The Uzumaki could feel a heavy stare against her shoulder blades, but since Kurama was sleeping… 

 

“Sakura, can you discreetly look back?” Naruto murmured, “Is Gaara staring at us?”

 

The Haruno quickly checked. “He looks downright mutinous. How did you offend him so badly?”

 

“I asked him out,” the blonde girl muttered, “He refused the date.”

 

Sakura was silent for a second, and Naruto peeked up, to see a contemplative expression on the pinkette’s face. “One word rejection?”

 

“One word rejection,” the blonde confirmed. “I asked him to go to the Hashirama Gardens with me.”

 

“What were you thinking?” Sakura exclaimed, “Everyone knows that the gardens are a couple’s spot. You should have started off with something more innocent.”

 

“He’s from out-of-town, Sakura,” the Uzumaki pouted, “How was he supposed to know that?”

 

“Good point,” the pinkette allowed, “When we’re allowed back into the village, do you want to go on an ice cream run? It always makes me feel better after Sasuke-kun’s refusals.”

 

“If this attempt doesn’t work, then my answer is ‘yes’,” Naruto told her. “Also, when the time is right, hit me over the head and tell me that I’m being stupid.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Sakura asked, befuddled.

 

“Trust me, you’ll know.” Then, ignoring her friend’s hushed protests, the blonde eagerly walked over to the red-haired boy’s table. Once again, his siblings appeared stunned at her approach, and Temari even tried to shake her head ‘no’ slightly.

 

“Hello!” The Uzumaki greeted brightly, “Can we sit here?”

 

Sabaku no Temari smiled back awkwardly. “I’m not sure if that would be a good idea.”

 

Her youngest brother was more explicit. “Go away, Naruto Uzumaki.”

 

Naruto sat down anyway. A second later, Sakura was laying down a partially loaded tray next to her, and gingerly taking a seat. 

 

“Hey! You’re the flat-chested girl!” Kankuro suddenly pointed out, “I knew you looked familiar.”

 

The pinkette glared back. “Naruto, why are we sitting with someone that’s wearing last season’s eyeliner?” Temari didn’t bother to hide her snort.  

 

“Sakura, be nice,” the Uzumaki admonished, keeping her smile bright and open as she faced the other ninja, “Did you like the last exam? I heard that your team blew the old record out of the water.”

 

The puppeteer puffed his chest out. “This test was a bit too easy for us. I thought that Konoha-”

 

“Kankuro, don’t talk to her,” Gaara ordered, instantly making the older boy subside, “Naruto Uzumaki. I am not your friend. I will never be your friend. Go away.”

 

“Sabaku no Gaara,” Naruto sniffed, “What makes you think that I’m here to talk to you?”

 

The teal eyes filled up with confusion, and the blonde could barely bite back her smile when they blinked owlishly at her. A confused Gaara was kind of adorable. Instead, she pointedly ignored him, and looked directly at the other blonde in the table. “Temari-sempai! Be my friend?”

 

Temari looked rapidly between her stunned brother and the grinning kunoichi. ““I’m  _ really _ not sure if that would be a good idea.”

 

“Aw, but I’ve never met someone my own age with a wind affinity,” the blonde pouted, “There aren’t many of us inside of Konoha, and, since you’re from the Land of Wind and carry a fan with you… well, I was hoping to pick up a few tips for my own training.” 

 

The other kunoichi relaxed a little, as a proud smirk crossed her face. “Training tips, huh?”

 

_ ‘A little mistruth to lure her in, imply a false specialty, and establish myself as a naive opponent,’  _ Naruto mentally cackled, _ ‘Yes, foolish ningen, begin to trust me and… Oh damn, I sound like Kyu now.’ _

 

“The leaf exercise is popular in Konoha, for all of the affinities,” the Uzumaki cited common knowledge, “What do you use in Suna?”

 

“In our village, it’s less about the cutting power of the wind, and more about control,” Temari told her, “Before someone can use their wind chakra to cut through a pebble, they need to keep a pinch of sand from flying out of their hand. Most users buffet it from above to keep the sand from escaping, but a more skilled wind user can make miniature tornadoes.”

 

“And you’re one of those skilled users then?” Naruto questioned, causing the dusky blonde to nod.

 

“Naruto Uzumaki.” It seemed that Gaara was even more irritated by being ignored, then he was by repeated requests for friendship. “Your presence irritates me. I demand that you leave this table, or I will kill you.”

 

“It’s not  _ your _ table. I don’t see your name on it,” the blonde answered childishly, “And why should my presence irritate you? I only wanted to speak to Temari-sempai.”

 

At this point, Sakura seemed to have caught on to her ruse, and gently cuffed her over the head. “Naruto! You know better than to lead a guy on.”

 

“Ow! Sakura, that hurt,” the Uzumaki whined, rubbing her head, I guess that you have a point though. Sorry, Temari-sempai. The conversation was interesting, but I wanted to see Gaara again.”

 

The dusky blonde looked amused. “I figured. Most people don’t start training their elemental affinities until they reach Chuunin. Stealing glances at my brother while talking to me was also a giveaway. One question though. Did you claim to be a wind user because you saw my fan, or do you  _ really  _ have a wind affinity?”

 

“I really do,” Naruto confirmed, internally pouting about her unsuccessful ruse, “I haven’t started training it yet though.”

 

“My brothers and I specialized at a young age,” Temari replied, “Can you guess what they are?”

 

“Wind affinity, and, since you’re the eldest child, probably politics. For Kankuro, puppets and maybe poisons,” the Uzumaki answered, a mischievous smile crossing her face, “Gaara? Has to be seduction.”

 

At that, both Temari _ and  _ Kankuro snorted, while Sakura merely groaned at her teammate’s dorkiness. Naruto merely kept laughing ocean blue eyes focused on the bewildered jinchuuriki boy, and so was able to slide her chair back, as a sand whip hit the table. Their respective food trays rattled on the table, causing the rice bowl to tip over and instantly silencing everyone else. There were no other genins in the tower now, but the Chuunin by the buffet was looking over.

 

_ ‘Brat, I’m sensing killing intent,’ _ a sleepy voice said disapprovingly, ‘ _ What are you doing  _ now?’

 

_ ‘Why do you always assume that it’s my fault?’  _ Naruto thought back, indignant. “Is there anything you would like to say Gaara?”

 

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” The teal eyes looked directly at her, as their normal impassivity faded into anger. Rather than scare her, the blonde felt herself become even more energized.  _ This _ was how Sabaku no Gaara was supposed to be. A nudging feeling inside of her brought to mind an image of a taller, redhaired man, deeply intense and quietly passionate, smiling at her.

 

_ ‘That’s not a future that I’m going to run away from,’  _ Naruto decided, as the vision was accompanied by a familiar mental ache. She leaned closer, placed her elbows on the table, and, mindful of the sand whispering around her limbs, looked into his teal eyes. 

 

“Did you think that the monster inside of you would make me run away?” she asked, knowing that everyone in the table was listening to her. “It won’t. I told you that I’m not afraid of your mother. I’m not afraid of you. There are bigger monsters in the world, and I’ve met one of them.”

 

Temari was the first to discern her meaning, and her sudden gasp signalled the withdrawal of the boy’s sand. Gaara was still staring at her, wide-eyed and fascinated, as she continued to regard him. The final sibling to understand was Kankuro, who started to curse under his breath.

 

“Naruto?” Sakura’s voice drew her attention away, and the Uzumaki realized that her teammate was looking rather confused.

 

‘ _ This is the time to recede brat,’ _ Kurama advised, ‘ _ You made enough of an impression now. _ ’

 

“Let’s go to the medic ward, Sakura,” Naruto stood up, “If you would like to speak later, Gaara, then my team and I are staying in Room 2C.” 

 

The blonde kept shaking her head to the pinkette’s increasingly intrusive questions, as the two hurried out of the cafeteria. She wondered if she had pressed too far, by admitting her own jinchuuriki status. No, Gaara would only be here for a month. Naruto had to take every opportunity available to her.

 

_ ‘Now that the foreign team knows though, you’ll have to come clean to your teammates,’  _ Kurama pointed out. _ ‘Otherwise, the information will become available to the wider public, if they discuss it in front of the Uchiha and the Haruno.’  _

 

_ ‘Well, that’s a conversation to look forward to, _ ’ the blonde sighed, ‘ _ Teme, Sakura, I want to you to meet my life partner, in the most platonic sense possible, the Kyuubi no Yoko. Yes, he’s the same Kyuubi that attacked our village, and killed thousands of people on the day of my birth. There’s actually a funny story about that... _ ’

 

Fortunately Sakura’s curiosity was derailed a moment later, when they stepped into the medic room, and found that the teme had woken up from his coma.

 

x

 

Omake

 

Ebizo, Honored Grandfather and one of Suna’s foremost spymasters, scowled irritably as he read the latest missive from Baki. After scanning the words over, he derisively tossed it onto the center table. “Bah! This makes no sense!”

 

His sister, Chiyo, looked up from her own correspondence. “What troubles you, Brother?”

 

“This newfangled cipher,” Ebizo replied irritably, “Baki is encoding his letters with a method that hasn’t been sent to me yet. Listen to this  _ ‘and Gaara has been approached for a date in the Hashirama Gardens by one of Kakashi Hatake’s female genin’ _ . What in blazes is that supposed to mean, Sister?”

 

“Kakashi Hatake? The Son of the White Fang?” Chiyo scowled, “Let me see that letter!”

 

After reading it through, she nodded thoughtfully. “The Hatake Clan is a wily one, Brother, and the White Fang’s son clearly taught his students well. He must have discovered the Sabaku boy’s jinchuuriki status, and used one of his students to pass on a warning. ‘Hashirama’s Garden’ and ‘date’ must be new codewords that the Intelligence Department established.”

 

“Don’t know what was wrong with the old ones,” Ebizo complained, “But you may be right, Sister. Later on, he adds that  _ ‘the female genin is a ward of the Sandaime Hokage’ _ . Hashirama was the Shodaime; the codeword must refer to the highest echelons of the Leaf Village. Hmm, one of the Hatake’s students in the Last Uchiha, yes? Perhaps this female genin is a hidden guard.”

 

“Yes, an astute observation,” Chiyo nodded, “We must send this over to the Intelligence Department, so that they can apply the remainder of the new ciphers. We have not discerned the meaning of ‘date’ yet, after all.”

 

“I swear that the codewords get more and more ridiculous each generation,” Ebizo shook his head, folding the letter and placing it to the side.

 

Several hours later…

 

“Boss! Ebizo-sama is making up codewords again!” One of the Intelligence officers shouted.

 

“I’m sitting two desks away from you, Obore,” his Boss said irritably, shaking her reddish brown hair out, “And the Honourable Grandfather promised to stop doing that last month. What part of the letter makes you think he’s adding new words?”

 

“It says here that the Sandaime’s ward asked the Monster out on a date,” the man reported. “Worse, the letter is signed by Baki. The old man is defacing other shinobi’s letters now!”

 

x

 

_ I know the transition from Sakura and Naruto barely liking one another to becoming good friends is a little jarring and unbelievable. But I think that trauma has a definite role in bonding people together, and, with their third teammate in a coma, they’re clinging to one another. Also, there’s less of a sense of superiority on Sakura’s part when it comes to Naruto, because this one has the reputation of a slacker rather than an idiot. Sakura thinks that Naruto is a stereotypical prodigy, that was so focused on her one craft- fuuinjutsu- that she didn’t bother with the other parts of her education. Not to mention that she’s still running off of the gratitude of being saved by the blonde in the forest (think about how Karin treated Sasuke, after he protected her from the bear).  _

 

_ As a side note, those events transpired differently from canon. Naruto got her team into the Tower with three days to spare, rather than at the last minute. This means that the Ame team they had originally defeated will pass, and that Karin was killed by the bear. Sakura didn’t have to cut off her hair. Naruto also sucked out a lot of the corruptive chakra that would have influenced Sasuke, before Kakashi used the Evil Sealing Method. This means that Sasuke hasn’t experienced the power that the seal could offer yet, and his nightmares of the Massacre weren’t able to torment him for long. _

  
_ Most importantly, Sasuke’s not unable to learn from his mistakes. Naruto warned him about a dangerous threat to his life. He disregarded it, and almost got his entire team- that remember, he’s starting to care for- killed. His second family almost died, not primarily due to his weakness, but his arrogance. That lesson  _ will  _ stick with him. _


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke Uchiha was reclining against two plush pillows, his hands splayed out on the plain navy blanket pulled up to his legs. The medics had left all of the minor scrapes and burns in his body alone, but bandages had been wrapped around his neck and lower collarbone. When he heard their footsteps, he looked up at them with haunted coal-black eyes. A hint of relief entered them, when both of his teammates drew chairs around his bed, and sat down.

 

Then he looked down at his hands. “Dobe,” he said listlessly, “They told me what you did to the Cursed Seal. Thank you.”

 

A blonde eyebrow rose. “Are you sure you’re medically cleared to apologize, teme? I know how much stress it puts on you to admit that you’re wrong.”

 

The teme looked up and scowled at her. “Obviously not any more than it takes for you to accept my gratitude with any grace.”

 

“Naruto! If someone thanks you, then you should accept it nicely,” their final teammate interjected, a note of censure in her tone. “And Sasuke-kun, your gratitude would be better off, if you didn’t insult her in the next sentence. Orochimaru’s seal was dangerous, and we were lucky that Naruto was able to help with it, before bringing us to the Tower.”

 

The novelty of Sakura chiding her beloved Sasuke-kun seemed to stun them long enough for her to continue. “I’m glad that you’re awake now, Sasuke-kun. I was worried about you. Naruto was too.”

 

“Was not,” the Uzumaki muttered rebelliously, “But seriously, did the Hokage or Kakashi-sensei talk to you about what happened?”

 

“Kakashi-sensei said that they have no way to get rid of that creep’s seal now, but they’ll be asking a famous seal master to come to the village and look into it,” the teme admitted, his tone simmering with anger, “I’m not the first person to have it. This man- Orochimaru- branded me like  _ cattle _ .”

 

“He wouldn’t have done it if you bothered to listen to me,” Naruto said flatly, “I told you that he was in the forest, and wanted to steal your Sharingan.”

 

“You did,” the teme acknowledged, “I didn’t listen.”

 

“No, and your arrogance almost led to all of our deaths,” the blonde continued, looking directly at him. 

 

Their other female teammate tried to intervene. “Naruto, he’s not the only one to-”

 

“You didn’t understand the severity of the threat, Sakura,” the blonde countered ruthlessly, “You do now, but Sasuke was born into a clan of dojutsu users. He knew that it was his duty as a Konoha nin and an Uchiha to do everything in his power to keep the Sharingan out of enemy hands. Even a hint of Orochimaru’s presence should have seen him withdraw from the exams. People have sacrificed more than a potential promotion to keep those eyes within Konoha.”

 

“But Naruto, don’t you think you’re being too harsh?” Sakura bit her lip, looking from the placid features of one teammate to the dark blue eyes of the other. 

 

“She’s not,” the teme finally said, “I brought the team into the forest. If Orochimaru wasn’t playing with us, then we would have all died. When the exams are over, I’ll request a reassignment in teams.”

 

Sakura’s face was a perfect expression of horror. “You can’t do that!”

 

“You really can’t,” Naruto added, her voice shifting into a matter-of-fact tone, “The Hokage assigns the fast-course genin teams for a one-year contract. Those can be repealed by a majority vote on the Shinobi Council, but that’s a conservative group that will never allow a precedent like that to be set.”

 

“I’ll change their minds,” the Uchiha’s hands clenched, and the blonde saw that he had started to tremble, “I can’t work with you two any longer. Team 7 is making me weak.”

 

“Fuck you, teme,” the blonde’s voice pitched higher, “Let me tell you what happened in the last exam.  _ You _ lost our Heaven Scroll and fainted in the forest, while Sakura and I fought off the Snake’s minions, passed the test, and dragged your sorry ass to the Tower! And you have the nerve to sit there and claim that  _ we’re  _ holding _ you _ back?”

 

“That’s not what I mean!” The Uchiha’s voice rose too, “I’m leaving Team 7 for your protection. It’s dangerous for you two to be around me!”

 

“Why? Because Orochimaru is after you?” Naruto snorted, “You’re not the only high-profile target in this team, teme. And why should we freaking care?”

 

“Zabuza was out of our league too,” Sakura pointed out, in a small voice, “He wasn’t after you Sasuke-kun, but he would have killed us, if you and Naruto didn’t destroy his water clones.”

 

“I’m not talking about Orochimaru,” the teme snapped, “I’m talking about  _ me _ . I’m dangerous to you!”

 

“The little boy sitting in the hospital bed?” Naruto taunted, “Yeah, I’m quivering over here. Want to borrow one of my kunai so you’ll have a weapon in your hands?”

 

“This isn’t a joke dobe,” the boy’s coal-black eyes looked desperate, “You told me to trust you in the forest. Why can’t you trust me now?”

 

“I was honest with my information in the forest,” the Uzumaki refuted, “You’re asking me to take a leap into blind faith after showing the most irrational reaction to battle trauma that I’ve ever seen.”

 

“I can’t tell you, because you wouldn’t understand!”

 

“You don’t know that, because you refuse to even try!”

 

“STOP!” Sakura shouted, once again stunning her two teammates into silence. When Naruto looked at her, she saw that the pinkette had a red face and jade eyes brimming with tears. “I- I agree with Naruto, Sasuke-kun. You can’t ask us to trust you, without trusting us in return. Does this secret have to do with your brother?”

 

When she saw the look on her crush’s face, the pinkette offered, “I read about Itachi Uchiha in one of the reference texts in our history book’s appendix.”

 

Despite herself, Naruto snorted. “I think you have to be the only student in Academy history to read the references. No, I take that back. Itachi-kun would have done that too.”

 

“Itachi-kun?” The teme repeated in disbelief. “You knew my brother?”

 

Naruto cringed, as she realized that she had just inadvertently given away one of her biggest secrets. “I did. He was one of the few people that gave a damn about me when I was a kid.”

 

The dark-haired boy looked at her blankly. “Itachi Uchiha is a madman.”

 

‘ _ A madman with the most peaceful chakra-scape that I’d ever felt. He rightfully wore the weasel mask, since he managed to trick everyone, _ ’ the blonde reflected darkly. “Yes, he is. But before he snapped and killed his entire family, he would sometimes visit my house, share a meal, and tell me a story.”

 

“He never told me that he knew one of my classmates,” the teme’s brow furrowed, “No, he did. You were the kitsune with the ink-black paws?” 

 

Naruto’s face reddened, as she was reminded of her favorite imaginary tale. “He was my hero.”

 

The words seemed to strike a deep chord inside of the Uchiha, because when he looked back at her, his eyes were tired and understanding rather than defensive and critical. “Before Itachi attacked the clan, he developed a unique pair of eyes. They were called the Ma-”

 

“Mangekyou?” Naruto interrupted, shocked, “How do you know about the Mangekyou Sharingan?” 

 

“Itachi told me,” the teme answered dumbly, “How do  _ you _ know about the Mangekyou Sharingan?”

 

“Um, Naruto? Sasuke-kun?” The pinkette raised her hand, “You moved on ahead of me. What’s the Mangekyou Sharingan, and why would Naruto be called a kitsune?”

 

“The Mangekyou Sharingan is a unique mutation that can only be gained by killing someone precious to you,” Naruto reported grimly, “And Itachi called me a kitsune, because… well… do you know what a jinchuuriki is?”

 

The teme looked at her blankly, but Sakura’s jade green eyes narrowed in concentration. One could almost see the gears whirring within her mind.

 

“They were used in the last war by every village other than Konoha,” the pinkette said slowly, “The power of a human sacrifice… none of the villages would have given there’s up… but the Kyuubi attacked- and the adults said that the Yondaime- but he wouldn’t- we would have known- Naruto?!”

 

“You’re the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko!” Sakura nearly shouted out. Naruto almost stepped back, expecting her female teammate to recoil in horror, but not for the vehemence of her reaction. “I can’t believe you! You stupid, reckless, crazy girl!”

 

“Huh?” The blonde’s reaction was perfectly understandable. Fear normally wasn’t expressed this way.

 

“What did the dobe do now?” The teme seemed resigned to the words.

 

“She’s flirting with an enemy jinchuuriki,” Sakura tattled, pointing accusingly at her female teammate. 

 

“I’m not sure that I understand.” The Uchiha looked almost physically pained by the admission. Naruto merely continued to gape at the pinkette.

 

“Naruto said that there was a monster inside of him, but that she didn’t care because she had met an even bigger monster already,” Sakura growled, “She was talking about the Kyuubi that was sealed into her as a baby. And even though her seal is probably stable, since she hasn’t lost it and killed anyone by now, Sabaku no Gaara’s seal is  _ obviously _ not. But you asked him out on a date anyway!”

 

“The Kyuubi was sealed inside of you?” The dark-haired boy took from that rant. 

 

“Er, yes?” Naruto looked awkwardly over at the pinkette, who had crossed her arms and resumed glaring at her, “I think that beats your Mangekyou threat, by the way. You could potentially kill us for power, but at least that’s under your own power. If I lose control, then I could kill you by accident.”

 

“Sakura said that your seal was stable, and you're too good of a person to attack anyone dobe,” the teme frowned, “I’m an avenger. I can snap at any moment, and attack my team for power.”

 

“Don’t think so highly of yourself, teme,” Naruto sniffed, “I’m a jinchuuriki. You can’t kill me.”

 

“Naruto! Sasuke-kun! Do you two have to argue about everything?” The pinkette demanded, “Listen to yourselves. You’re fighting over who’ll be more likely to kill the team!”

 

Ocean blue and coal black eyes exchanged a glance of mutual aggravation, and then looked away in discomfort when they realized that they had just connected. Naruto wondered how badly her confession had been skewed, when one teammate got angry about her love life, while the other utterly disregarded the danger she presented.

 

Sakura continued to fume. “I can’t believe that you’re willing to put your life in danger for a date!”

 

“In my defense, the teme just admitted that he was a power-hungry sociopath that could snap at any minute and kill you for stronger eyes, and you still called him ‘Sasuke-kun’,” Naruto pointed out.

 

The pinkette immediately deflated, and sounded forlorn. “Why is Team 7 so fucked up?”

 

Naruto grinned at that question, and even the Uchiha’s mouth quirked upwards. “Well, the teme and I came clean. Do you have any deep, dark secrets to share Sakura?”

 

“I have a split personality that holds all of the anger and violence that I’ve suppressed in my childhood, okay?” Sakura snapped, “Got a problem with that?”

 

The blonde shook her head. “Nope. Not at all. How about you teme?”

 

“My Clan has a literal Curse of Hatred,” the Uchiha said sardonically, “I would be a hypocrite if I did.”

 

The pinkette flushed. “Yeah, well you, Naruto, are sharing your body with a demon and Sasuke-kun’s special eyes are apparently psychic enough to tell whether or not he’s killing a loved one. I’m not the only weirdo here.”

 

“Then we should all be weirdoes together,” the Uzumaki firmly stated, looking at the bedridden Uchiha, “Still going to ask for a reassignment?”

 

The teme met her gaze evenly. “Orochimaru’s cursed seal deteriorates my mind, and I didn’t have the best mental stability to begin with. More than once have I considered killing you to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan. There are people out there that will hunt me for my eyes. If I stay on this team, then those are threats that you would have to deal with.”

 

Naruto reached down to the bottom of her shirt, and pulled it halfway up. As she channelled her chakra, the thick, black lines of the Shiki Fuin appeared around her navel. “Honestly? I have some pretty good insurance. Can you handle being on a team with a literal demon holder?”

 

“My quirk is harmless.” Their third teammate shrugged, “But I’m not going to abandon Team 7.”

 

“Eh, the Shinobi Council wouldn’t have listened to me anyway,” the teme sighed. There was a certain lightness and warmth to his eyes that wasn’t there before, as he looked at the two girls. Then he seemed to remember something, and frowned. “Wait. There’s  _ another  _ jinchuuriki in these exams?”

 

…

 

Outside of the infirmary, Kakashi Hatake quietly hummed to himself, as he read the orange book in his hands. He kept one ear on the most recent argument that his two hot-headed students had started, before his third, slightly less combative, student ordered them both to stop fighting. In front of him was an active, glowing secrecy seal.

 

He didn’t want anyone to listen to the valuable intel that his cute little genin were spewing as they bonded after all.

 

_ ‘The Mangekyou Sharingan, huh?’ _ Kakashi thought, turning the page, ‘ _ I wonder if I have one. _ ’

 

x

 

Sasuke Uchiha was restricted to the infirmary for the next three days, but since Naruto was a natural troublemaker, the teme hated hospitals, and Sakura was still clinging to her teammates, they decided to sneak the Uchiha back to the team’s room instead. The pinkette insisted on rummaging through the room for additional supplies first though, since they were in need of another clean pillow and the standard issue blankets were terrible. Naruto wholeheartedly agreed to this.

 

In the end, Team 7 made a strange sight as they marched back to their room. Sakura was in the lead, holding a cushy pillow triumphantly in her hands. Sasuke was next, carrying nearly half of the medic’s bandage rolls, blood pills, and antiseptic wipes. At the rear was a procession of Naruto clones carrying everything else they stole.

 

The Uchiha raised a single eyebrow at the cot arrangements. “The dobe is sleeping in the middle.”

 

“Alright,” Sakura agreed easily, bouncing forward to arrange their ill-gotten gains around the room.

 

When an appropriately fluffy nest had been made out of the extra pillows and blankets, the Uchiha sat down on the left cot, and pulled off his shirt. “What do you think dobe?”

 

“The upper left part makes you more suspicious of other people,” Naruto unsealed a sketch pad, an ink pot, and a fresh brush, as she sat behind the teme. “It’s an inversion of the bottom right, which will make you more likely to trust the maker of the seal. Oh! This part is rather devious- I think it’s supposed to inject a little of Orochimaru’s corrupt chakra into your system, so you’ll build up a dependency on it. My seal has something similar, but the alien nature of the Bijuu chakra makes it impossible to form an addiction.”

 

Kakashi-sensei hadn’t given much detail about the Curse Seal of Heaven, beyond ‘it’s bad, don’t use it’, so many of Naruto’s observations were new to the Uchiha. Next to her was their pink-haired teammate, who was gritting her teeth, while jotting down the effects that the blonde mentioned. When the fuuinjutsu novice was done, the dark-haired preteen wanted to storm out of the room and set Orochimaru on fire, S-ranked Sannin or not.

 

Sakura’s reaction was somewhat similar. “We need to get strong enough to kill that man. Him, and Itachi Uchiha.”

 

“Is Team 7 going to make a record of all our mortal enemies now?” Naruto asked. She meant it as a joke, but the pink-haired girl merely nodded. And that was how, in Room 2C, the Blacklist was born.

 

After that, the teme stalked off to the shower, while Sakura decided to crack open one of the few medical books they found in the infirmary. Naruto had settled down in the center of the blanket nest, still studying the deviously complicated seal, when a knock was heard from the door.

 

“I’ll get it,” the blonde announced, picking up one of her last shock card- and making a note to draw up some more- and opening the door. Her chakra sensor ability recognized someone familiar on the other side of the door, but she didn’t put the warm sun rays and brisk wind to a name, until Temari’s dark green eyes looked back at her.

 

“Temari-senpai!” Naruto was startled. 

 

A nervous smile crossed the dusky blonde’s face. “Hello Naruto.” 

 

“What are you doing here?” the Uzumaki asked, widening the door and placing her card away. The Suna genin’s eyes flickered past her shoulder, and then bugged out at the huge pile of blankets.

 

“How did you get that?” Temari looked envious, “Our room only has one pillow and thin blanket for each of us. Is this Konoha favoritism?” 

 

“We stole them,” Naruto admitted, not surprised to see the other girl nod approvingly, “Hey Sakura, do we have any spares?”

 

The pinkette didn’t bother to look up from her heavy medical textbook to point at the floor. There were four pillows and two blankets remaining, and the wind user looked exceedingly pleased when Naruto placed them in her arms. A roll of bandages, a general poison antidote, and a case of blood replenisher pills were also gracefully accepted. 

 

“I wanted to talk to you,” Temari confessed, her eyes still rather nervous, “About what you said…?”

 

“It’s fine. My team already knows about my jinchuuriki status,” the blonde assured, stepping outside, “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

Sakura’s face rose up. “We expect her back in perfect condition,” she informed Temari.

 

“I don’t think there’s anything I  _ can _ do to a jinchuuriki,” the older girl replied, before Naruto closed the door. Holding on to her newfound supplies, Temari led them to a deserted corner of the stairway, and then stood opposite of her. For a minute, she just stared at the Uzumaki without saying anything. 

 

“Soooo… are we going to have that conversation today?” Naruto rubbed the back of her neck.

 

The dark green eyes continued to study her thoughtfully. “You’re so _ normal. _ ”

 

Naruto’s lips curled upwards, as her companion seemed to realize what she had said. 

 

“No, no, no, I don’t mean it like that!” Temari shook her head, frustrated, “It’s just- you weren’t any different from the other Leaf nin! No one called you a monster, or feared you. I thought you were a normal kunoichi. I wouldn’t have even guessed that you were like Gaara, if you hadn’t told us.”

 

The amusement in the ocean-blue eyes faded. “Is that what they do? Call him a monster?”

 

The accusation in her eyes made the Suna kunoichi recoil. There was a rattle on the floor as Temari dropped her supplies, and brought one hand up to rub at her eyes. Naruto felt her anger melt away to sympathy at the other girl’s clear anguish.

 

“You don’t understand,” the dusky blonde said, blinking her eyes rapidly, “Gaara isn’t like you. His seal is unstable. Being a jinchuuriki changed him.”

 

“What do you mean?” There was an almost morbid curiosity rising in her about the redhead’s life.

 

“Gaara used to be such a sweet child,” Temari explained, “He was shy and soft-spoken. He never wanted to hurt anyone, but when he got scared, his sand would lash out. It started happening more and more, until it killed his main caretaker. Then Gaara became cold-blooded and inhumane. He killed anyone that slighted him; he started to take pleasure from the act. No one else mattered to him.”

 

“It changed me too,” Naruto spoke softly, “Not even the best seal will prevent a Bijuu’s nature from influencing his Host. I don’t know how much of my aggression or cunning could be attributed to the Kyuubi, but I wasn’t this… ruthless, when I was a child.”

 

She was surprised to find a bitter laugh come out of Temari’s lips. “Even better. You have a Bijuu with eight more tails of power than my brother, but you’re still sane and relatively normal.”

 

“I’m from the Uzumaki Clan, and my seal was one of their last masterworks,” Naruto sighed, “The Yondaime improved on the original design, and, when the Kyuubi attacked, that seal was used.”

 

Mildly hesitant, the blonde continued. “I didn’t have the  _ best _ childhood, but there were people that cared for me. The Old Man, my little brother, an Academy sensei, Ita- a friend, and some restaurant vendors gave me the strength to fight against my Bijuu’s hatred. And now I have a team that knows about the Kyuubi, but cares for me anyway. Knowing that someone will accept you, regardless of your seal, is important. Gaara would do more to resist his Bijuu, if he knew that people cared for him.”

 

“How can I do that?” Temari asked, a little plaintively, “Most of the village is terrified of him, and my family isn’t much better. Kankuro tries to care, but he’s terrified of Gaara. And my Father turned him into a weapon, but can’t be bothered to speak more than two words to him at a time. It’s only me, and the more I push forward, the angrier Gaara gets.”

 

Naruto’s brow furrowed. “Did you say that your  _ Father _ turned Gaara into a weapon?”

 

The dusky blonde nodded. “Shukaku isn’t as strong as the Kyuubi, so we had sealed him into a pot. But Suna was a lot weaker after the last war, and the Kazekage decided that we needed a jinchuuriki. My brother was chosen to be the vessel.”

 

_ ‘Compared to that, Dad’s actions seem downright saintly,’  _ Naruto thought. “Then there are at least two people that care for him now. You want to help Gaara, and so do I.”

 

Temari’s dark green eyes filled up with gratitude. “When we first met, I thought you were insane for talking back to Gaara. But even then your words seemed to get through to him, since the way you acted was so novel. And now, as another jinchuuriki, you may be one of the only people that he would listen to. Please don’t let him scare you away.”

 

A smirk crossed the whiskered girl’s face. “Not a chance. After all, I haven’t gotten my date yet.”

 

A short, somewhat strangled, laugh came out of the girl’s throat. “I think that’s what freaked Kankuro out the most. He was unintentionally flirting with a jinchuuriki.”

 

“Not very well,” Naruto snorted, “Come on. Do you want me to escort you to your room?”

 

“I think I can handle that myself,” Temari stood up. Despite her puffy eyes and red face, there was an open, confident smile on her face. “Gaara can’t sleep because of Shukaku. And he prefers to sit in high areas during the night. You know what I mean?”

 

Naruto nodded. “Got it. Ambush him under the moonlight, and steal a date when he’s too sleep-deprived to say ‘no’.”

 

“I was thinking ‘talk to him about being a jinchuuriki’, but your plan works too,” Temari grinned, “I’ll see you later, Naruto Uzumaki.”

 

x

 

When the Uzumaki returned to the room, she waved away Sakura’s curious gaze, and crawled into the bed. Drawing up a blanket to avoid the room’s harsh white lights, Naruto closed her eyes. ‘ _ Kyu, can we talk?’  _

 

Her partner sounded incredibly grumpy as he replied.  _ ‘Oh, so now you remember me? When the other ningen are too busy to talk to?’ _

 

The blonde set a feeling of mild exasperation to the fox. ‘ _ Kyu, my team and I may be getting along better, but you’re still my best friend. In fact, I think you might be my soulmate! _ ’

 

Kurama snorted. ‘ _ That joke wasn’t funny six years ago, and it still isn't funny now. _ ’

 

‘ _ Why are you so  _ mean _ to me? _ ’ the blonde whined.

 

‘ _ I am the Kyuubi, brat. I am filled with hatred and fury beyond your mortal comprehension. _ ’

 

‘ _ The dramatics are beyond my understanding too, though I think the teme can relate.’ _

 

_ ‘Comparing me to the Uchiha will not gain my forgiveness, brat.’ _

 

_ ‘Kyu, you’re as likely to accept an apology, as you are to make one. What did you think of today?’ _

 

_ ‘That you brought me great shame when you reached an understanding with the Uchiha.’ _

 

_ ‘Okay, but what about Temari’s words? Do you think we can help Gaara?’ _

 

_ ‘That’s difficult to say, brat. From his chakra-scape, I would say that he has a strong will, but that can easily work against us. He may not want to be saved.’ _

 

_ ‘His eyes were filled with the same loneliness and pain from my own childhood, Kyu. Who could refuse companionship after that?’ _

 

_ ‘People who do not believe that they deserve any better. It is a foolish notion that you ningen have.’ _

 

_ ‘Can you tell me anything about his Bijuu?’ _

 

_ ‘Hmm, it has been many years since I have seen Shukaku. His nature is as capricious and mercurial as the sand that he commands. However, I do not believe that he was always so mad.’ _

 

_ ‘What do you mean?’ _

 

_ ‘Not all seals are made equal, brat. My first and second jinchuuriki preferred to keep me in constant pain to limit my influence. Your prison was an improvement, but even that was uncomfortable and cramped before your modifications.’ _

 

The blonde Uzumaki felt guilt squirm inside of her stomach, as her partner referred to her mother and great-aunt’s seals. Before she could apologize, the minute traces of demonic chakra in her system spiked upward and reminded her of one simple truth. Kurama absolutely despised other people’s pity.

 

‘ _ Shukaku’s first jinchuuriki was a kind-hearted priest that treated him as an equal, but his second one was senseless and cruel, even for you ningen. He would steal his Bijuu’s power with impunity, which is something that I am fortunate to have never experienced. The seal would force him into a tiny, pitch-black room without any access to the outside world. The constant pain and sensory deprivation eventually drove him mad. _ ’

 

Naruto gulped, trying to force back her tears. ‘ _ I see. Is that why he tries to drink everyone’s blood?’ _

 

_ ‘Shukaku’s hatred of humanity did not inspire his bloodlust. His own power is derived from blood, and he drinks it as a restorative.’ _

 

_ ‘Then… then, Shukaku is trying to regain his sanity?’ _

 

Kurama sent back a feeling that could roughly be equated to a shrug. ‘ _ Perhaps, brat. I would not claim to understand my inferior brethren.’ _

 

Naruto ignored the insult. She didn’t even think that her partner meant it maliciously. For Kurama, insulting another being was practically an ingrained reflex. _ ‘Kyu, I have an idea…’  _

 

x

 

Omake

 

Team 7 had ended up reading Icha Icha due a strange set of connections. The second exam was over, and Sasuke wanted to learn more about Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin. Naruto, having grown up on stories of the Old Man’s team, recounted all of the information she knew, including the fact that the Snake’s former teammate was the famous Spymaster Jiraiya. Sakura then made an observation.

 

“Jiraiya… as in the author of Kakashi-sensei’s perverted books?” the pinkette asked.

 

“Well, it’s not like it’s a common name,” Naruto said slowly, an odd expression crossing her face, “You don’t think that he also penned that hentai…?”

 

“If he did, then it must have been for a good reason,” Sasuke responded grimly, “He’s a Spymaster. He’s probably hiding secret codes in them.”

 

“The Old Man said that Jiraiya spent a lot of his time tracking Orochimaru’s activities,” Naruto mused. “That could be the information in the book.”

 

“Then it makes sense why a shinobi like Kakashi-sensei would read them!” Sakura was delighted. Her sensei wasn’t a random pervert after all!

 

“Then we’re going to read them too,” the teme decided.

 

Sakura, who had the best eye for detail, had been elected to put on a Henge, and stroll into the bookstore. When she came out, there was a small blush to her face but also an expression of determination. Five minutes later, three anxious preteens were sitting on Naruto’s bed, as a lurid orange cover sat innocently before them.

 

“We might as well start,” Sakura broke first, reaching forward and flipping the first page over.

 

When they were done…

 

“Who could possibly want breasts that large?” Naruto was disgusted, “The added weight would make taijutsu much more difficult.”

 

“An hour’s worth of continuous orgasms cannot possibly be healthy,” Sakura shuddered, “Think of the nerve damage to your sexual organs!” 

 

“That penis could be a target all on its’ own,” the Uchiha scowled, “This is so unrealistic.”

 

The blonde looked at her pink-haired teammate. “What do you think? Inferiority complex?”

 

“Probably,” Sakura confirmed, “With a healthy dose of sexual ignorance and fantasy projection.”

 

“A drunkard, a pedophile, and now, an impotent loser,” the dark-haired boy sighed, “At least the Snake Sannin was confident enough in his own masculinity to dress up like a woman.”

 

x


End file.
